Long Way Around
by Zenparadox
Summary: How a brownie changed the course of Callie's life. ADDED TO CLEAR UP SOME CONFUSION: This is a supernatural/scifi/fantasy romance FANFICTION with some comedy and destiny and fate and romantic love all wrapped into a FANFICTION. It's mostly going to be FLUFF. Callie and Arizona are going to be perfect for each other because they were MEANT TO BE. TRUE LOVE... it's the theme, yo.
1. Chapter 1

**Note: **Just a silly short. Not part of any series.

.

* * *

Callie Torres loved being a wife and mother. Or, at least she did at first. Right now she was having some serious regrets, and it wasn't her children that she was regretting… it was her spouse. Honestly, she had no one to blame but herself… well, she blamed her dad a little bit. She had an out and didn't take full advantage of it and now there were twins. She adored her twins, head over heels loved them. They, and their sister, were the only things keeping her going.

She used to be deliriously happy… before. Before the 'accident', and the subsequent infidelity, her family was perfect. Everyone said so. She'd even heard the words 'aspirational couple' bandied about on a few occasions. Before. Always before.

Then she'd been blindsided by an infidelity. A betrayal that she never saw coming. She knew things weren't perfect, but not once had she considered the possibility of falling victim to unfaithfulness. When it happened, she was devastated. She thought her marriage was over, they'd lived apart for a while, the cheater even had a fling with a resident, but with some encouragement from her father _and_ her belief in love and second chances, the marriage she thought was over, was on once again. One thing led to another and their threesome had become a fivesome, _un_ _grupo de cinco._ They'd reconciled, bought a house, and had the twins all within a year. It happened so fast, she'd not given a second thought to how fragile it all was. Until now. Her marriage was broken and she had no idea how to fix it, and if she were completely honest with herself she didn't _want_ to fix it.

So here she sat, alone, in the hospital cafeteria contemplating the slow death of her marriage while staring at the hot blonde that wasn't hers to stare at. She stared at a woman she wasn't married to, a woman who stirred things in her she hadn't felt in years. Things that threatened marriages, things that made her consider straying, breaking her vows. But, she couldn't. She wasn't that person. So she stared and day dreamed. Day dreamed about being cheated on again so she could put this marriage out of its misery. Surviving the infidelity was hard, painful, something she thought she'd never want to experience again, but now it'd give her an acceptable reason to end it once and for all. She could tell everyone that she'd tried her hardest, but it just wasn't _meant to be_. That it wasn't her fault her children would be from a broken home.

The sound of the chair next to her scraping across the floor brought her out of her day dream, she looked over to see Owen taking the seat next to her.

"Do you mind if I sit?" He asked.

"Go ahead. I was just leaving, though. Sorry." She cleaned up her mess, throwing her trash onto the tray, hiding the fact that she wasn't actually finished eating.

He glanced across the cafeteria to the table that Callie had been staring at. "How are things with Robbins?"

"What? Why do you ask? Did someone say something?" Callie felt her face heat up as she blushed.

"The tension is obvious Callie, even to me," he looked at her with sympathy. "I don't know what's going on between you two, but don't let it affect patient care."

"Arizona and I are fine Owen, we are professionals. Any issues we have… we would never… Our patient care is fine."

"Look, I know things are rough right now, but… it'll get better again. I promise."

"I have surgery," Callie lied. She tried to take the coward's way out and flee the cafeteria, but Owen grabbed her hand before she could get away. She pulled her hand out of his grasp and slid it into her lab coat pocket. She turned and asked him, "Did you need something else?"

"I guess not," he sighed.

She started to walk away again, but something stopped her. She turned back to the man, "Uh… can you get the boys from daycare tonight? Allegra's preschool is having that fundraiser and I promised to help. I forgot it was tonight."

"Oh, I was uh… I had a thing, but I can cancel. It's not a problem. I guess… I guess I'll see you at home tonight?"

"Yeah," Callie replied. Her face unreadable. He didn't say what his 'thing' was and she didn't really care. His thing could shove it. "Allie and I will bring dinner so don't let the boys snack too much." They had started calling Allegra 'Allie' for short just recently because the boys couldn't pronounce her full name. Unfortunately, they didn't realize the Callie and Allie connection until it was too late.

"Just don't be too late, they get grumpy when they're hungry."

Callie threw a wave of acknowledgement over her shoulder as she quickly left the cafeteria.

* * *

Later that evening, at Our Lady of Destiny Preschool, the fundraiser was in full swing. Several tables were set up selling items ranging from donated electronics to hand made jewelry to baked goods. Callie thought for a fancy private Catholic pre-school, with really high tuition, they sure held a lot of fundraisers. Multiple bake sales, craft sales, and white elephant sales, such as the one she was currently volunteering for, were always happening. She was manning a table that didn't seem to be very popular. It was just her and an elderly woman working this stand. She figured it was her luck to get the dud table with the creepy old lady helper. Allegra was a few stands down playing with her friend. They were at popular table, Callie couldn't see what they were selling, but… their table had a line.

Thankfully, her 'shift' was almost over, because she was hungry. Her stomach kept growling, causing the little old lady that was working the table with her to give her the stink-eye. Callie hated getting the stink-eye from little old ladies. She just wanted the time to pass so her and Allegra could grab some dinner and head home. The boys were probably giving Owen a hard time. That thought brought a tiny guilty smile to her face.

The old lady kept looking at her, so she picked up her phone and pretended to be busy. She checked her email again and sighed. Nothing. No one ever emailed her outside of work, but she always checked anyway… just in case.

"Is something bothering you, dear?" The old lady asked.

"No, mam. I'm just a little hungry. I came straight here from work."

"Oh, please… don't call me mam, my name is Genie," she smiled. "What kind of work do you do?"

"I'm a surgeon at Seattle Grace hospital. A cardiothoracic surgeon. I fix hearts."

"What a coincidence, so do I!" the old woman said. Callie looked at her expecting more, but she didn't elaborate. Callie was going to ask, but she figured the old lady must be senile and let it drop. She picked up her phone again and refreshed her email.

The woman narrowed her eyes and brazenly looked Callie up and down. Callie shifted in her seat, not used to being scrutinized like this. She was about to call the woman out about it, when her stomach growled again.

"Here, eat this." Genie reached into her bag and pulled out a brownie. "I made a bunch for the bake sale, but this one is special. This one is for you."

"Oh, uh… thanks." Callie took the brownie and let out an embarrassing moan as she took the first taste. Either she was a lot hungrier than she thought, or this was the best brownie she'd ever tasted. She quickly finished the two inch by two inch square of deliciousness, even cleaning up the crumbs from the plastic it was wrapped in.

"Good, good," Genie said. "Feel better?"

"Yes, thank you. I was famished. I had to skip the end of my lunch today." She balled up the plastic wrap and tossed it into the trash can. "Does your grandchild go to this school," Callie asked. "I don't believe I've seen you around before."

"Oh, no dear. No, no… I go where I'm needed. I'm kind of a freelance volunteer."

"That's nice. I assume you are retired from… what was it you said you did?"

"I said I fix hearts, but not like you. Is that your wedding ring?" Genie pointed to the large diamond on Callie's finger. "It's beautiful. May I?" Callie held her hand up for the old lady to get a closer look at her ring, but was surprised when the woman grabbed her hand and turned over to look at her palm. Callie tried to pull away, but the gnarled old fingers were strong. "Calm down, dear. You're so high strung."

"What are you doing?" Callie asked.

"Trying to see where you went wrong." She ran her fingers over the lines on the surgeon's skilled hands.

"What?" Callie exclaimed. "What do you mean 'where I went wrong'?"

"Hmmm… a wrong turn… no, not necessarily wrong, but you certainly took a detour. An essential one for that young lady over there… and her brothers, because they were meant for you, but it's time you correct your course."

"I don't know what any of that means," Callie said.

"What do you believe, Dr. Torres?" Genie asked. "About the nature of existence."

"You mean like… do I believe in God? I send my daughter to Catholic school, of course I believe in God."

"Not everyone who goes to church believes in God, dear… But that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about destiny and fate?" Callie looked skeptical. "No? What about lives being lived in other realities? Alternate universes?"

"What?" Callie looked at the woman like she was crazy. Mentally ticking another box on her senility diagnosis... maybe even escalating it to dementia.

"You'll see," Genie replied.

"Mommy, mommy!" Allegra came running up, interrupting before Genie could elaborate further. "Katie's here!"

"I see that, sweetie," Callie smoothed her daughter's hair down as Allegra's friend Katie Spencer and her mother Wendy made their way to her table.

"Looks like I'm your replacement, Dr. Torres. You are officially relieved of your volunteer duties."

"And not a minute too soon," Genie replied. "Miss Calliope here needs some nourishment. Body and soul."

"She means dinner," Callie laughed, completely missing the fact that the woman called her by her full name. "Also, Owen is home, _alone,_ with the boys… I'm not sure what kind of mess we'll be walking into. The sooner I get there, the better."

The women made small talk for a few minutes while Callie gathered her stuff to leave. When little Katie and Wendy stepped away to sign in and hang up their coats, Callie took the moment to bid farewell to Genie.

"It was nice meeting you," Callie said. She shook the old woman's hand. "Have a nice evening."

"You too dear," Genie said. She winked, "I hope you have _sweet dreams_ tonight."

* * *

The rest of Callie's evening went as most nights did. Dinner conversation was dominated by the kids. Then the three b's: baths, books, and bedtime. Owen retired to the spare room where he'd been sleeping for the past six months, and Callie stared at the ceiling in the master bedroom where she slept alone. Always alone.

Her eyes drifted closed and she fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

* * *

Callie awoke the following morning to the feeling of kisses across the back of her shoulder. Soft sweet kisses. Owen never woke her with kisses, and when he did kiss her… it didn't feel like that. She must be dreaming.

"Wake up, pretty lady."

She was definitely dreaming, because that certainly wasn't Owen's voice.

"Come on, Sofia is with Mark and we don't have to be at work until nine. I want morning sex." The voice whispered into her ear. Both the words and the breath sent shivers through Callie's body. "Please, Calliope?"

Callie's eyes popped open. She rolled over and came face to face with the woman of her dreams.

"Dr. Robbins? What are you doing in my bed?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Note: **Just a silly short. Not part of any series. **Wow. I can't believe the response to this bit of craziness. Thank you all so much.**

_._

_Callie's eyes popped open. She rolled over and came face to face with the woman of her dreams._

_"Dr. Robbins? What are you doing in my bed?"_

* * *

Callie's heart beat rapidly as she stared into those blue eyes. The blue eyes of the woman she pushed herself to argue with at work, just to keep her in the room with her longer. The blue eyes of the woman she had to both, mentally and physically, restrain herself from groping whenever they were alone. The blue eyes of the woman who had no idea that her married colleague was creeping on her. Those blued eyes, along with the hot woman they belonged to, were here, in her bed… wanting morning sex. Best. Dream. Ever.

"Oh, so it's one of those mornings, huh?" Arizona slid on top of Callie and straddled her middle. "You know I love it when you call me 'Dr. Robbins'. Especially in bed."

Callie swallowed hard, she was reluctant to speak for fear that her voice would crack. Her hands were sweaty, but she tentatively placed them on the other woman's legs, the gorgeous legs that were currently on either side of her waist. She swallowed hard again. This has to be a dream.

"Ouch!" Arizona yelled. "Did you just pinch me?"

"I uh…" Callie swallowed again. "I thought I was dreaming."

"You do realize pinching _me_ does nothing to disprove that you are dreaming? You need to pinch yourself. Or…" Arizona leaned forward so that her lips were just a hair's breath away from Callie's own. "_I_ could pinch you." The words ghosted over Callie's lips as blonde's hands, which were now on her abdomen, started moving, ever so slowly, upward. Callie closed her eyes in anticipation of _whatever_ was about to happen… because she was dreaming dammit, and she could do anything she wanted in her dream. Just as Arizona's nimble fingers were about to reach the highest peak of the northern mountains… the sound of a pager filled the room, breaking the spell. Callie opened her eyes expecting to be alone, she presumed the awful beep of the dreaded pager had ended her super-hot sex dream. She was wrong.

"Crap. It's mine," Arizona said, still sitting atop of Callie's waist, "911." She leaned back down and placed a quick kiss on the stunned brunette's lips, "We'll have to continue this tonight." Arizona removed herself from atop of the silent brunette, grabbed some clothes and stepped into an adjoining room.

After several minutes, Arizona came out from the other side of the glass door that she'd disappeared behind and made her way back through the bedroom to another door, "See you at lunch. Oh… kiss our girl for me." And just like that, she was gone.

Callie lay on the bed dumbfounded, staring at the ceiling. Not knowing exactly what to think. After a few minutes of quiet contemplation she reached up and pinched herself on the arm.

"Ouch!" It hurt, and she was still here. "Okay… that answers that question."

She sat up and looked around. This wasn't her bed, this wasn't her home. There was a picture of her and Arizona on the night stand that she didn't remember having taken. She picked it up to get a closer look. They looked adorable together. Happy. The last picture she had taken with Owen he was grimacing, and her eyes were dull, no… dead. She ran her fingers across the glass of the picture frame and sighed.

"What the A-fib is going on?" Having kids had meant learning creative ways to curb her swears, especially the big ones… apparently it wasn't something she could turn off now that it was on.

* * *

Arizona had been gone for half an hour and Callie hadn't moved an inch. Once she finally got her head wrapped around the notion that she wasn't actually dreaming, that something deeper was going on, she cautiously decided it was okay for her to get out of the bed. Her bladder was starting to protest, and she didn't really want to pee in Dr. Robbins' bed.

She tip-toed over to what she assumed, was the ensuite bathroom, the room she'd watched the gorgeous blonde rush into earlier. Arizona had went into the room in her sleepwear then came out of fully dressed, so Callie figured her odds of finding the room to be something other than a bathroom were pretty low. Relieved to see her assumption was correct, Callie quickly used the toilet then stood at the sink to wash her hands. As she did so, she stared at herself in the mirror. Her hair was bit shorter, but overall she was the same person she was last night when she looked into a different mirror. In a different home. With, apparently, a different life.

That's when she noticed it. The unmistakable scar from a heart surgery. She ran her finger down her breast bone until it disappeared into the camisole she was wearing. She pulled her hand out and removed the shirt all together. She checked her scars with the seasoned eye of a surgeon. They were well healed and small… definitely less than a year old. She figured it was a trauma, because as far as she knew, she didn't have any underlying heart conditions. Plus, there were other scars on her abdomen of the same age that would have nothing to do with a non-traumatic heart surgery. No, her chest had been cracked because of something big. Something life changing.

She really needed to call Owen and check on the kids. Then… maybe the go to the hospital.

* * *

She'd found a mobile phone on the nightstand, but trying to reach Owen that way was a fail, both his mobile and their house numbers were not in service. Owen didn't appear to be in the contacts on the phone, unless it was under some sort of pet name… who the heck was McDreamy? Not Owen, she was sure of that… unless it was ironic. That made her laugh.

She rummaged around in a handbag for some kind of address book to see if he had a different phone number. The handbag was a little edgy for her tastes, but she assumed it was hers because she was currently staring at her driver's license. She even looked happier in the driver's license picture.

The license had her address listed as 140 5th Ave N. Apt. 502, right across from the hospital. Definitely walking distance, she sighed and looked around the room again, at least she wouldn't have to figure out which car was hers to get there.

She'd yet to leave the bedroom, afraid of what she might find outside of her bubble, but it was almost 8:30 and, apparently, her shift started at nine. She went to the closet to find something suitable to wear to work. Nothing seemed right, it was all either too casual or too dressy. Dr. Robbins went with casual this morning, but that was for an emergency page… Hmmm, unless Ellis had relaxed the dress code, she'd better go with the least dressy dress she could find.

She managed the get herself looking pretty damn good. Serious, talented, hard-core, not someone you mess with. Nice, but hot. Confident even, a lot more confident than she felt.

She decided as long as she looked confident and professional, then any lack of knowledge about what was going on here she could fake her way through.

* * *

Callie marched across the street like she was on a mission. Actually, she _was_ on a mission. She needed to figure out: where she was, how she got here, and how to get back. She briefly considered she was in the future and suffering from some sort of retrograde amnesia, possibly caused by the same trauma that caused the scar on her chest, but quickly ruled that out by checking the date on her phone. Which left her with Genie and her suspiciously delicious brownie. Genie was currently her number one suspect, with all of her talk of alternate universes and such, but until she had a better idea of what she was dealing with, she wasn't going to jump to any mysterious old lady shaped conclusions.

The shortest route from the apartment building to the hospital brought her in through the ambulance bay instead of the employee entrance. Directly by The Pit. She tried to sneak by the chaos, but April Kepner was hollering for someone to call cardio.

She threw her purse behind the triage station and grabbed a trauma gown.

"What do you have Dr. Kepner?" She asked. "How can I help?"

"Oh, uh… Dr. Torres… I guess… Can you man the ultrasound?"

"Of course. What are we looking at?"

"He took a steering wheel to the sternum, he's having chest pain, shortness of breath…"

"There it is. Cardiac tamponade," Callie said. "Looks like the pericardium's about to burst. We need to do this right here. He won't make it to an OR. All right. 18 gauge. Kepner take the over here."

"Shouldn't we…" April tried to suggest they wait, but the look Dr. Torres was giving her quickly changed her tune. "Okay, I got it. I'll take over the ultrasound."

"I'm going in, um, subxiphoid. Knife." A nurse handed her the instrument she needed. "Okay, needle."

Owen ran up just as Callie started to insert the needle. "What's going on here?" he asked.

Callie was too focused on the patient and what she was doing to react to the fact it was Owen who'd asked the question. "This guy is toast if we don't drain this."

"Be careful," Owen said.

"I know," Callie tossed over her shoulder as she worked, becoming irritated at his caution.

"Don't puncture the heart," Owen warned. Callie ignored his coaching and completed the procedure flawlessly.

"That was amazing, Dr. Torres," April said. "I didn't know you could…"

But Callie ignored the young woman and turned to her husband. She was furious, "Are you questioning my ability to do my job?"

"No, but this isn't your job, Torres…" He stepped up to the patient as Callie took a step back.

"Then what is my job, Owen? If it's not to save patients… what is it?"

"Let's get him prepped and up to an OR to repair the arterial dissection." Owen looked to April and gave her some instructions, then to Callie, "You should have waited for cardio… Teddy or Cristina..."

"Yang? You prefer I wait for my resident… " She paused as something clicked. Army Teddy? He's here? "Teddy is here?"

"In her defense, Chief," April interrupted, "this guy would likely be dead if we'd waited."

"Chief?" Callie chuckled in disbelief. "You're chief now?" she glanced at his lab coat that unquestionably laid out his title as Chief of Surgery. Her sudden ire calmed at the reminder of this new reality. "I mean…" she cleared her throat, "Of course you are the chief… I just…"

Callie rambled, Owen mostly ignore it, he was looking over the job she'd done. "I have to admit," he pointed to the patient, "Your work is impeccable. I forgot how capable you were in the ER."

"I'm sorry, but did you just call me capable? I am excellent at my job, a superstar… and you know it."

"Of course you are…" Owen added. "I just wasn't expecting this from you. You constantly surprise me, Dr. Torres."

Callie cooled as she watched Owen. He worked without saying anything, helping Dr. Kepner prepare to move the patient to an OR.

She didn't know if her kids existed in this place, but she had to find out, because if they didn't… no matter how giddy the idea of being with Dr. Robbins made her, she'd need to get back. She couldn't live without her babies.

She cleared her throat and just put it out there, "How are the kids, Owen?"

He stopped what he was doing and looked up. "They're doing great," he smiled.

"Really?" She sucked in a breath she didn't know she was holding. Relief flooding her whole body.

"Oh yeah, your wife is a real miracle worker."

"My… _wife_?" Callie swooned just a little at the idea of being married to Dr. Robbins.

"Yeah… I assumed you were asking about the kids she was paged in for this morning? Is there another case you were talking about?" She went from swooning to disappointment in seconds upon realizing Owen hadn't been talking about their children. Her sweet babies.

"Oh, um no…. that's what I was talking about." She tried to hide her disappointment, but tear betrayed her and plummeted from one weak eye. She would need to have a few words with that eye for not being strong enough to hold its tears back.

"Are you okay," Owen asked.

"I'm… fine," Callie swallowed. "It's just been a bit of an emotional morning." She waved him off.

Cristina ran into the room, "I'm sorry, I was pulled into an emergency valve repair with Teddy… I couldn't get here sooner. You, um… paged?" Owen's body language immediately tightened and Cristina looked at everyone but him.

"Dr. Torres just performed an emergency pericardiocentesis, but he needs surgery to repair a tear in the…"

"Callie? You did pericardiocentesis?" Cristina asked. "Up here." She held up her hand for a high five.

"Why is this so shocking to everyone? I'm not an idiot," the frustrated brunette complained. And since when had Yang called her anything other than Dr. Torres?

Owen cleared his throat, "We need to get him to OR now. You can celebrate later."

Owen and Cristina took the patient and rolled off toward the elevator that would take them to the surgical floor. Neither saying a word to each other.

"What was _that_ tension about?" Callie asked.

"I'm not normally one to gossip, but we were both there so…" April looked around to make sure no one was in earshot. "Things haven't been right between them since the big fight at Zola's birthday party, you know?"

"Oh… uh yeah, that was… um really something," Callie tried to fake.

"Pretty much calling your wife a baby murderer in front of all of her colleagues is a little bit more than something, in my opinion."

"Wait…" Callie heard the words but was having trouble processing the meaning. Baby murderer… big, yes, for sure… more info definitely needed… but that wasn't the important part… wife. Kepner said wife.

"Owen and Yang are married?"

* * *

After digesting the idea of her star resident being married to her husband, Callie decided she couldn't handle any more surprises today. She was hiding in the lobby, sitting at a small table behind the coffee cart, trying to figure out her next move. She had no idea what to do or who to talk to. She was missing her children desperately, and the one bright spot about being _here, _was in surgery. Probably for hours.

"_You_ are a bad mother."

Callie sighed and picked at her napkin. She looked around the lobby for someone she recognized, there were a few people, but no one whose name she knew. There was some guy in line at the coffee cart that was staring at her, but other that, no one was paying her any attention. She took a sip of her coffee then went back to picking at her napkin.

"Real mature. You are just going to sit there and ignore me?"

Callie looked up to see the man from the coffee cart standing in front of her. "I'm sorry… were you talking to me?" she asked.

"What is wrong with you today?" He pulled out the chair at her table and sat down across from her. "First you don't come by on your way to work for your morning kiss and now you're being weird."

"I was supposed to kiss you? What?" Callie shook her head, she was so confused. "Who are you?"

"Kiss me? What? Don't say that so loud!" the stranger reached across the table and put his hand over her mouth to stop her from talking. He looked around, fear in his eyes, to see who was in earshot. "I don't want your wife removing anything important from my body. I may want more kids at some point."

"Oh my god," Callie yanked his hand from her mouth. "Are we having an affair? Gross."

"What? No! No affairs, no… just no." He looked really frightened now, he whispered, "but really, Cal… gross? I'm the father of your child, you shouldn't call me gross."

"My child?" Callie sat up straighter in her chair.

"Yeah… your child. You know, the one you forgot to stop by and kiss this morning. And Robbins didn't either. Her little brown eyes kept looking at the door all sad like. I could barely get her to eat her breakfast. You should feel guilty. You're a bad mother."

Callie burst into tears, "I really am… I am a bad mother… oh god, what am I going to do?"

"Oh… crap. Don't cry. God, Torres, I was just… I was messing with you. She was fine, she ate all of her cereal. She's in daycare… do you want to go see her?"

"I guess…" Callie sighed. "I have a daughter? I'd really like to meet her."

"I'll take you as soon as my coffee is ready."

Callie took her shredded napkin and blotted at her tears. She didn't want to meet her child all weepy. She wondered about her situation, married to Arizona… child with some dude whose name she didn't even know. Yang was married to Owen. And if Owen was the chief of surgery, where was Ellis Grey?

"Skinny white chocolate mocha latte for… Mark," the barista called out from the coffee cart.

"Oh, that's me," the man at the table with her, apparently the father of her child… jumped from his seat to grab his drink. Mark. His name is Mark. Wait that's... She looked again at the man in question as he joked with the barista. Realization suddenly dawning on her. Addison's baby daddy's name was Mark.

"Oh my god. Addie is going to kill me."


	3. Chapter 3

.

Mark had been paged as soon as he returned to the table from getting his coffee. Callie planned to go see Sofia, but she wasn't quite ready yet... so she rode with this Mark character on the elevator to the surgical floor. She figured she should, at the very least, make sure she wasn't missing any important surgeries while she wondered around the hospital like a lost patient from the psyche ward.

Before they reached the surgical floor, she decided she needed to find out if her child and Addison's child were siblings.

"So, uh… Mark," Callie ventured, "Seen Addison lately?"

"You know she hasn't been back to Seattle since she delivered Sof," Mark replied. "We just talked about this a few weeks ago when Amelia was here. How late did your wife keep you up last night?"

"Um, I'm pretty sure mine and Arizona's night time activities are none of your business and not something she'd appreciate me talking about with you. Seems inappropriate."

"Who are you?"

"What? I'm me. Why would you ask that?"

"Inappropriate conversations is our thing, Callie," Mark replied. "Arizona and I share the cooking thing, you and I share stuff we shouldn't. It's what we do."

"I… have no idea how to respond to that."

"God, you're weird today," Mark said. "I'm leaving, I've got a set of fake boobs waiting for me…. Drink some more coffee. Get your head on straight. Or go page Robbins to the pediatric on-call room and do something decidedly un-straight. You need to improve your mood."

* * *

Callie read the surgical board, prudently taking note of names she recognized and of names she had never heard of before. There were still so many questions swirling around in her brain. Who were these residents, M. Grey and L. Grey that were all over the surgical board? Were they related to Ellis? And where was Ellis? And Webber… her resident? Richard was on the board, but no other Webbers were listed. It was too confusing.

She had to read her own name next to _hip replacement surgery _at noon three times before it sunk in that she wasn't a cardiothoracic surgeon here, wherever here was. Apparently, she was an orthopedic surgeon... no wonder everyone was so impressed with her perfect pericardiocentesis in the ER earlier. That made her smile. It also made her think of the orthopedic surgeon that _her_ Dr. Robbins liked to lunch with on occasion. Which then made her wonder if Dr. Robbins had a thing for orthopods. Then she got jealous of the stupid orthopedic surgeon that Dr. Robbins like to lunch with. And now she was frowning.

Which is how Bailey found her when she strode up to the board to make some changes. "I thought you were in your lab all morning, Torres…"

Callie glanced down and saw the friend she hadn't seen in the weeks since she'd been fired. "Mandy! It's so good to see you."

"I know you didn't just call me Mandy." Bailey growled. She looked offended.

"I… uh… no, I meant Dr. Bailey," Callie swallowed hard. This Dr. Bailey wasn't the same as her Dr. Bailey. That's for sure. "I'm not… I was just… uh, my lab?"

"You scheduled lab time for the morning and surgeries all afternoon," Bailey said. She looked Callie up and down. "Are you feeling okay? You look… anxious."

"Um, anxious? Me?"

"You and Robbins aren't fighting are you? You know I have vested interest in your marriage, so you would tell me if things were troubling you, right?"

"What? Vested interest?" Callie stumbled over the question. "Um. We are great, things are great… I think… I love her…"

"You think? I don't officiate weddings for just anybody," Bailey shook her head. "You love her and you know it. You think," Baily scoffed. "What kind of talk is that?"

"I'm sorry, I just…"Callie sighed. "It's been a strange day."

"You know if you ever _really_ need to talk…" Bailey was suddenly serious, she looked around to make sure no one was listening, "I'll make an exception for you."

"No, no, no, Bailey, I'm fine, honestly. Arizona is perfect. I'm just… not feeling myself today," She figured the easiest thing to do was stay as close to the truth as possible. She really wasn't herself today. "My mind is practically in another universe."

"Well, you get your head out of the clouds, you have a full surgical schedule this afternoon."

"Yeah, about that…"

* * *

Callie was a heart surgeon, she couldn't replace a hip- minimally invasive or otherwise, so she feigned ill and asked Bailey to clear her surgical schedule, which Bailey promptly delegated to a resident named Lexie and the orthopedic charge nurse.

After cancelling all of her surgical procedures for the afternoon, Callie finally found herself walking down the corridor toward the daycare.

When she reached her destination, her nerves kicked up again, so instead of going straight in and asking for Sofia, she thought it'd be a good idea to stand outside the window and just watch for a few minutes… in hopes of catching a glimpse of her daughter.

She peeked through the window of the infant room and all she saw were a small number of babies in various stages of sleep lying in the daycare bassinets. Several daycare workers carefully watched over tiny infants. None of those felt like hers- she figured she would know her baby, even if she'd never seen her before.

Callie moved down the hall to the next window. The room contained the older more active babies. She quickly scanned the area seeing nothing of interest until her eyes landed on the far side of the room. What she saw was life changing… axis tilting… earth shattering. Dr. Robbins was sitting on the floor playing with her child. _Their child_. Her thoughts looked heavy and she was obviously taking what comfort she could from Sofia. Arizona looked up and locked eyes with the watching woman, her smile was radiant, despite her slightly gloomy vibe. Callie's heart beat so hard in her chest, she had to fight the urge to check her pulse. It was all the confirmation she needed to validate her feelings. She was in love with Arizona Robbins… and when she got home, she was going to do something about it.

Callie stopped her gawking and made her way into the daycare. She sat on the floor with the two, Sofia immediately reached for her.

"Hi baby girl," Callie rubbed the soft hair on top of Sofia's head, then kissed where her hand had just been. "Sorry I missed our kiss this morning."

"What are you doing down here?" Arizona asked. "I thought you'd be holed up in the lab all morning. I know how hard it is to get time in there anymore."

"I'm just… taking a break. Clearing my head," Callie replied. "What about you? I thought you were in surgery?"

Arizona just shook her head and Callie instinctively understood not to push. She knew the look of a surgeon who'd lost a patient. No wonder Arizona was seeking the company of her child. Callie gave Arizona a sympathetic smile and reached over and squeezed her hand in understanding.

They spent the next twenty minutes playing with Sofia and taking comfort from each other's presence. Callie didn't _really_ know these two people, her wife and child, but she realized this Callie, the one whose body she was currently inhabiting, was one lucky woman.

Eventually, their little family contentment bubble was popped when Sofia started yawning and rubbing at her eyes. They allowed the daycare worker to take her and prep her for her afternoon nap.

After leaving the daycare the two women walked in silence toward the elevator. Callie could tell Arizona needed something from her, but she was still a little unsure of herself. She wanted to take the woman in her arms, but in the busy hallway it was too much, but once they were on the elevator, they were finally alone. Arizona allowed some tears to well in her eyes and Callie immediately opened her arms to the distraught woman in front of her. Arizona stepped into the embrace and sighed. Her head on Callie's shoulders, she finally let a few tears flow.

Callie didn't know what to say, what words the other her used to comfort this woman… so she just held her. She held her tight and let her weep her sorrow at losing a patient, a child, on her shoulder. She ran her hand through the silky blonde hair and kissed her temple, not once uttering a word. Neither of them did. By the time the elevator dinged their destination, Arizona had composed herself once again.

"Thank you," Arizona smiled as they exited the elevator on the Peds floor. "Every time. You know just how to make me feel better."

Callie smiled back, she reached out and fixed a bit of Arizona's hair that was sticking out on the side, then ran her hand down the blonde's arm and squeezed her hand. "Always," Callie replied.

"What time is your surgery? Can we do lunch?" Arizona asked.

"Actually, I… uh, I cancelled all of my surgeries this afternoon. I'm not feeling myself and I didn't want to…"

"Are you sick?" Arizona's hand flew up to her forehead, checking for fever.

"No… nothing like that," Callie said. "I think I ate a bad pastry from the coffee cart."

"I told you those pumpkin scones were an affront to good taste!" Arizona scolded. "It's almost as bad as carrot cake. Yuck."

"Actually, it was a brownie." Callie said. "I'm sure the brownie is the cause."

"Do you need me to take off? I could come home with you? Mark will happily take Sofia another night."

"No, I don't want to keep you from your patients. I'm just going to take care of a few things here and then head out." As soon as Callie said the words, she was afraid this would be their goodbye. She felt, almost intuitively, that her time here was running out. Maybe she should ask Arizona to come home and spend the afternoon with her. What could it harm?

She was about to open her mouth to suggest it, but fate had other ideas. Arizona's pager chose that instant to come alive.

"Crap, it's 911… I have to go," Arizona sighed. "You sure you will be okay?"

"I'm sure, you go… be a rockstar," Callie smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

Arizona tilted her head and looked at her wife thoughtfully for a minute. She was about to ask again if Callie was okay, why she looked so melancholy, but her pager rang-out again. "The tiny humans can't wait. I'm sorry." She started to take off down the hallway, but stopped and turned back to her wife and said, "I love you." She was gone before Callie could respond.

"I love you, too."

* * *

Callie was once again trying to sneak through The Pit, but this time she was headed in the opposite direction. She was almost to the exit when she heard her name being called from somewhere behind her. Maybe she could pretend not to hear.

"Callie! Hey, stop… I need you for a consult. Where are you going in such a hurry?"

Callie stopped her retreat and turned to find Meredith Webber waiting for a response, "I can't do a consult. I'm done for the day… just on my way out the door."

"Okay, well I just need you for a second. This old lady will not take no for an answer. I tried to tell her you were in surgery, but she just said 'I really doubt that' which I thought was strange, but I guess she was right… because you aren't in surgery… even though I saw you listed on the board earlier. Lexie was scrubbing in with you."

"I'm sick, Webber," Callie said. "I'm leaving early."

Meredith looked around confused. "Webber? He's doing a whipple. She wouldn't accept him anyway, this lady is adamant about seeing you."

Callie glanced at Meredith's lab coat and was surprised to see the name Grey… she really needed to get away. She was making too many mistakes, things were too different here.

"She said you'd want to see her too," Meredith handed Callie the chart.

Callie eyes went wide at the name on the chart, _Eugenia Hart_. She looked back up at Meredith, "Where is she?"

"She's in bed four."

* * *

Callie ripped the curtain back on bed four to find Genie sitting straight up in the bed holding her purse in her lap.

"What did you do?" Callie asked in course whisper.

"Oh, I seem to have tweaked my ankle…"

"You know that's not what I'm talking about," Callie said.

"I didn't do anything my dear, you did," Genie replied. "I just opened you up to the possibility."

"The possibility of what?"

"Of different choices, different lives," Genie said. "You were stuck, and it was killing you…" She gently tapped Callie on her breastbone, "inside. You weren't happy and I could hear it loud and clear. I just wanted to help you."

"Maybe next time try an honest conversation. Don't feed me a tainted brownie and send me into an alternate universe."

"You needed to see," Genie insisted.

"I _need_ to go back…"Callie said. "My children."

"I know, dear. I know," the old woman reached into her purse and pulled out another brownie.

"This is how I get back?" Callie asked. She took the pastry from the other woman. "So… that's it… just eat this brownie?"

"It is… as soon as you sleep again, after eating the brownie, you'll awake where you belong."

"Where I belong? Is this some sort of trick? I'm not going to wake up somewhere else completely, am I? Or back here?"

"No, dear, no… You belong with those three children, just as this Callie belongs with Sofia. They are integral to each of yours happiness. And so is Dr. Robbins."

"I know, I figured that out," Callie said.

"It won't be easy, forging your happiness. It will hurt at times. Are you up to the challenge?"

"To find this kind of happiness? This Callie has the perfect life."

"Oh no, no, no… don't make the mistake of assumptions," Genie warned. "Her life is far from perfect. The moment may be right, but she has some tough times ahead. The difference is she is with the person she was meant to be with, good times _and_ bad. You are not."

"Will I… have tonight? I mean, will I fall straight to sleep after eating the brownie?"

"You can do anything you want, dear. You can try to sleep now, or you can let the course of the day flow and fall asleep tonight as usual. As long as you remember this one isn't yours. She belongs to someone else."

"Of course… I know. I just want have this feeling a little bit longer. What if…"

"What dear? What's your concern?"

"What if I go home and eat the brownie and my goodbye was in a crowded hospital corridor? What if… my Dr. Robbins doesn't, you know, like me?"

"Your Dr. Robbins needs you as much as you need her, she just doesn't know it yet. This little glimpse at what could be… may have changed _your_ perspective, but she's still in the status quo. She'll need a push… you'll have to be the one to reach for your combined destiny. _If_ you are brave enough. And you are going to have to be brave, Callie Torres. Braver than you've ever been."

Callie was about to ask some more questions, but Meredith chose that moment to appear. "Did Dr. Torres get you all taken care of Ms. Hart?"

Genie ignored Meredith for a second and spoke once again to Callie, "You go home, eat that brownie, and make things right. Be brave."

"I will," Callie smiled. "I definitely will." She turned to Meredith and a said, "Dr. Grey, take good care of Genie here. I've got to get home. Where I belong."

Callie turned and walked away without looking back. Just as she was about to go out the door she heard the old lady asking Meredith about her wedding ring and if she was happy. Callie smiled and left the hospital behind, just like she would soon leave this universe.


	4. Chapter 4

.

Callie stepped out of the hospital into the rare Seattle afternoon sun. Her plan was to go back to the apartment she shared with her, no, other Callie's, wife and daughter, and wait for them to come home for the evening. Being in the hospital around all those people who are all the same, yet so different, was causing her to make too many mistakes. Plus, she was getting a headache.

While she waited at the intersection for the light to change, Callie ran her hand through her hair, rubbing the side of her head where it was starting to throb. Her fingers massaged the scalp to relieve some tension and as she did so, she found yet another scar. One more question in her very long list of questions. Now she wondered if the headache had to do with what caused the scar or if was simply a symptom of the current stress she was feeling. One thing she knew, though… she needed food, not of brown sugary variety that was tucked safely away in her purse, she needed something of substance.

The light changed and Callie quickly crossed the street. She spotted the Emerald City Bar, it was popular with the hospital crowd, but she rarely went there. After the kids were born, her and Owen almost never went to bars... well, she didn't, who knows what he did some nights. She debated heading into the bar for a cheeseburger or going straight back to the apartment and hoping there was something there to eat. The ungodly noise coming from her stomach at the thought of some greasy bar food made her decision for her… lunch at Joe's, then home.

* * *

Callie stepped through the door into the familiar, yet unfamiliar, bar… the smell of alcohol and stale peanuts overwhelmed her.

"Hey, Callie! Haven't seen you in a while. You in for lunch?" Came a voice from behind the bar. A happy seeming man pouring a shot of what looked like tequila. She thought that was the Joe that owned the bar, but wasn't sure.

"Uh… yeah, sure. Cheeseburger?" She sat at the bar. The server brought out a plate of cheese fries and handed them off to Joe, who sat them next to the shot of tequila a few seats down from Callie. "Ooo… I'll take some fries too, plain though," she added.

"You on?" The bartender asked.

"What?"

"Are you on duty? You want a drink or are you going back to work?"

"Oh! Uh, yes… I mean no, I'm not going back to work. I'll have…"

"The usual?"

"Sure… and a water?"

"You got it." He smiled, "How's Arizona and the baby?"

"They are both fantastic, thanks for asking." Callie smiled at the bartender's familiarity, and assumed she and Arizona were more into going out than her and Owen ever were. The bartender sat a glass of water and a red wine in front of her. She thanked him and took a sip of the wine while she let her eyes wander over the bar. She hadn't been in her version of this bar since the boys were born.

"Callie! What are you doing here?" Cristina strolled out of the bathroom. "Why aren't you over there performing more unexpectedly brilliant pericardiocentesises?"

"Dr. Yang? What are _you_ doing here? I thought you were repairing that guy's…"

"Teddy's doing it," Cristina waver her off. "I was on all night, needed food and alcohol," She grabbed her plate and tequila and moved to sit down next to Callie. She downed the shot, "Joe, hit me again."

"Yeah… Teddy. How is Teddy?" Callie wasn't sure why she cared so much, but she wanted to know if this was the Teddy that Owen often spoke of. And it seem liked a good opportunity to interrogate Cristina about a few things.

"Still a widow. Still hates Owen," Cristina grabbed a fry from her plate. "She doesn't get too personal with me anymore, for obvious reasons, it's all about the work. Why are you asking me anyway, she's your wife's friend, don't you guys talk?"

"She…" Callie couldn't get her words to form past the realization that Owen's Army buddy was female, not that it mattered she was half a world away and Owen would never… except he had. He'd cheated on her once, and now the only thing keeping him from completely coming apart were his almost nightly conversations with another woman. "She hates Owen? They were in the army together…"

"Well that army connection doesn't mean much now," Cristina said, she tackled another of her fries, the cheese started to harden making them difficult to pull apart.

Joe delivered Callie's burger, which she was thankful for. Her head was pounding and the red wine in front of her wasn't as appealing as she'd thought it'd be.

"Are we friends, Cristina?" Callie asked. She took a big bite of her burger and waited for Cristina to answer.

"Of course we are. What's wrong with you?" Cristina replied.

Callie carefully finished chewing her food, then wiped her mouth with the napkin, "Nothing. I just… I'm kind of in a life assessment mood. Taking stock, you know?"

"Ah, one of those moments. I know them well… being friends with Meredith and all."

"You and Meredith are friends," Callie repeated. "You and Owen… how are you guys?"

"Still married… still barely speaking," Cristina turned on the barstool and looked intensely at Callie, as if weighing something.

"What?" Callie freaked out at bit, she grabbed her napkin and wiped at her face again. "Do I have ketchup on me?"

"I think Owen is cheating on me."

Callie's eyes went wide, "Uh… I don't think I'm the best person for you to talk about this with…"

"We just established that we are friends. I need to assess too! I can't talk to Meredith about this, she'll hate him for me and I don't want that right now. Not yet. I just…" Cristina said. She poked Callie's arm, "What do you think? I mean… we all practically lived together, so you know him pretty well. Is he the type? Could he do something like this?"

Oh yeah, definitely the type, Callie thought, but she didn't know enough about their situation or this Owen to make any sort of judgments. And they all lived together? What's that about?

"Come on Callie, you've been cheated on. I know O'Malley did a number on you… and I know you knew before he told you. How did you figure it out?"

Callie didn't know anything about this O'Malley person, but she did know about being cheated on. It was Owen that did a number on her, if not for the twins, she would regret ever taking him back. "A wife just knows, Cristina. If you feel like something is off…"

"That's exactly what I didn't want to hear." Cristina sighed. She motioned to Joe for another tequila.

"I mean, what makes you suspect him?"

"Things have been tense. He's hasn't been coming home… sleeping at the hospital. I don't know… He's still so mad at me about the… You know what, whatever. I think I'm done talking about this. Sorry I brought it up." Cristina pointed to Callie's plate. "Eat your burger before it gets cold."

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it? I'm a good listener, even if I don't have any answers for you." Callie asked. She took a bite of her burger and looked back over at Cristina while she chewed.

"Nope, I'm done," Cristina said. "The moment's gone."

They both ate in silence for a few minutes. Joe refilled their waters and left them once again to talk. "You and Robbins doing well?

"Absolutely, why do you ask?" Callie wondered if there was an ulterior motive.

"No reason. Just wondering if the newlywed phase had worn off," Cristina replied. "How's my goddaughter?"

"What?"

"Sofia. You teach her to say my name yet?"

Callie was surprised once again at the differences in the two worlds. She wondered what convoluted set of circumstances lead to her resident to being her child's godparent. "Um… she's good, but still working on her mamas' names." Callie hadn't heard the baby say anything earlier, so she assumed Cristina wouldn't know any different.

"Yeah, double duty there," Cristina said. "She's a pretty cute baby, by the way. She definitely grew out of her chicken phase. I have to admit… I wasn't sure you three would be able to make this co-parent thing work, but you are. Sloan and Robbins are even acting like… friends. Sofia is lucky to have that much doting. Good on you for making it work."

"Um, thanks," Callie said. Absorbing the added information. "You want another drink? It's on me." Maybe getting Cristina a little tipsy could get her some more information.

"Sure, why not." Cristina said. "Hey Joe? Hit me again, and put this one on Callie's tab."

They spent the next hour sitting and talking. The more Cristina drank the looser her lips became. Callie had hit the information mother lode. Cristina regaled Callie with hospital gossip and the juicy details of everyone's lives. Callie learned more than she ever expected to learn, one of those things being her resident may pretend like she doesn't care, but she pays attention to everything. Callie barely said a word during the whole conversation, just a few well-placed questions and words of encouragement and that's all that was needed.

Ellis Grey was dead. Meredith Webber, no… Grey, was married to Derek, who wasn't Addison's husband and hadn't been for a long time. Apparently here, he wasn't so dreary… they even called him McDreamy. Addison was in Los Angeles. April Kepner was still a virgin, which Cristina took great pleasure in knowing. Alex was her wife's protégé. Lexie Grey was Meredith's half-sister and her and Mark broke up because Mark kept trying to force her to be a parent to children almost the same age as her. Whatever that meant.

Callie learned that Dr. Robbins had won the Cater Madison grant and dumped her at the airport to work in Africa. She hadn't handled it well and ended up knocked-up by Mark Sloan. Then Arizona returned because she missed Callie so much, so they decided to get back together and raise the baby as co-parents with Sloan. They got married after a horrible accident in which she and Sofia had almost died. Cristina had saved Callie's life, while Arizona had saved their baby, who was born at mere twenty three weeks. She couldn't believe all they'd been through and yet how happy they were despite it. She absentmindedly rubbed at the scar on the side of her head, the headache had receded with the consumption of food, but once Callie knew the cause of the scar she couldn't keep her fingers from grazing it.

"This was fun, Callie," Cristina said. "We should do this again. Just because we aren't roommates anymore, doesn't mean we can't hang out. Plus, I like when you buy me tequila. Tell that wife of yours to let you out more!"

"I will," Callie laughed. "This was a very enlightening lunch. I really had fun. You… are so different…"

"Different?" Cristina asked as she grabbed her jacket off the back of the barstool. "Since I moved out? Not really, I still don't pick up after myself and live off of cereal." Cristina sighed, "I'm beat… I'm going to go home and sleep for hours then go stalk Owen at the hospital some more. Have a good evening, Callie."

"You too, Cristina. I really hope… I hope Owen isn't…" Callie said. "You guys seem…" She was going to say good for each other, but she just couldn't tell.

"I know, me too. Me too. Who knows, maybe I'm just being paranoid. Owen and I have survived a lot. I got him through his PTSD, maybe I can get him through this." And out the door she went.

Callie was surprised by Cristina's comment about helping Owen's PTSD. That was something Callie had failed at epically, Owen wouldn't even discuss it with her. Maybe the Yang in her world is what he needs?

Cristina and Owen… it never entered her mind before, but what if she was the resident he slept with ten plus times while they were separated? What if he loved Yang? What if Callie and Owen's reconciliation tore apart another meant-to-be couple? She refused to regret it, though, as it gave them Angus and Gavin, but now it was time for them both to be happy. She would let Owen go for both of their wellbeing. Callie felt as though another weight had been lifted. She wouldn't need to worry about Owen, he would have Cristina.

Joe returned from the back and interrupted Callie's thoughts. He looked surprised to see just Callie sitting there.

"She didn't pay did she?" Callie asked.

Joe shook his head no. Callie reached into her bag and pulled out her credit card, "I guess it's on me, then."

"You're an exceptional friend, Callie Torres."

"That's good to know, Joe," Callie smiled as she signed her receipt and left a generous tip for the man. "That's so good to know."

* * *

Callie quietly let herself back into apt. 502, she had no idea why she was being quiet, because she was alone, but it didn't feel like her home. It took her several tries, as she had no idea which key to use, but eventually she was successful. She sighed relief and took a look around. This time she paid more attention to detail than she did during her panic through the place earlier.

The signs of a baby were obvious, she couldn't believe she'd overlooked them this morning. Callie found Sofia's room and smiled at the simple, yet adorable, décor. She picked up a plush elephant, sat in the rocking chair and just took in the room. It was a good room. Sofia's name was on the wall in colorful wooden letters and on the stand by a changing table sat a picture of Callie, Arizona, and Sofia with balloons on both sides of them and a 'Welcome Home' sign hanging behind them. Callie picked up the picture and stared at it. They looked so happy.

That's when Callie realized how stupid she's been, she should be looking at her phone. If this Callie was anything like her she would have hundreds, if not thousands, of photos on her phone. She jumped up and left Sofia's room behind.

She pulled the smartphone out of her bag and made herself comfortable on the big red couch. She spent the next couple hours just scrolling through pictures of a life that wasn't hers. Pictures of her tiny premature daughter with tubes and wires and smiled with amazement at the transformation as she grew into the beautiful healthy baby she is now. She almost couldn't count the number of pictures she had of Arizona rocking Sofia in the very chair she just vacated. Apparently, other Callie had a thing for pictures of her wife holding her daughter, and she couldn't blame her, they were breathtaking together.

On Callie's second go through of the pictures, a text came through from Arizona asking if she was feeling any better. Callie replied that she was fine and inquired as to when they would be home.

From Arizona's response, Callie learned she only had one hour until her wife would be here with Sofia in tow. Callie had to make a decision, should she eat the brownie now and try to sleep before they arrived, or spend one last evening with this family that was hers, but wasn't? This family that she was growing so attached to.

* * *

Callie's decision made, she took a quick shower and dug through the dresser drawers looking for something comfortable to wear. She returned to the family room and noticed she'd received a text from Arizona informing her that they were on their way home.

The lock on the door turning caused Callie to panic. She made the wrong decision, she should have gone back. Not risked revealing herself as an impostor. Surely Arizona would know, especially the longer they were together. She grabbed the brownie out of the purse and ran into the bedroom to quickly consume it before the struggling Arizona could make it through the door with the infant carrier.

"Callie? A little help here? I'm not used to carrying all this alone," Arizona called out from the doorway. "Mark's on late tonight, so it's just me and the Little Miss."

"I'll be right there," Callie yelled, bits of brownie escaping from her mouth with each word. She chewed and swallowed as fast as she could, not wanting to keep Arizona waiting. She checked herself in the mirror before departing the bedroom to join her family. As she walked into the family room she said, "Hey, Arizona, I'm not feeling well… so I think I might just go to bed…" She was going to say 'early' but was once again bowled over by the sight in front of her. For a second time that day, she fought the urge to check her pulse at her racing heart. Arizona and Sofia were… dancing? Callie was speechless. No way was she going to bed early now.

"There's Mommy," Arizona whispered to Sofia, then louder to Callie, "come join our dance party."

Callie was going to regret not eating that brownie earlier.

* * *

The initial panic at being alone for the evening with Dr. Robbins and their child wore off quickly after their dance party and they easily fell into a routine. Callie was certainly familiar with the domestic dance of diaper changing and dinner prep.

Arizona ordered take-out and prepped Sofia's baby food, while Callie tended to Sofia's wet bottom. Then Arizona took a quick shower, while Callie fed the baby. Arizona was in and out of the shower with practiced ease and strolled back into the family room just as the door buzzed with their pizza.

The two woman enjoyed their dinner, while Sofia messed about with what was left of her food in the highchair. Arizona talked about her day, she filled Callie in on someone named Morgan and her premature baby. Callie wasn't sure who that was, but she didn't fail to notice Arizona's eyes not leaving Sofia while she talked. It made Callie wonder how hard it must be for Arizona to be around preemies, especially ones that weren't the miracle that their Sofia seemed to be. When the conversation waned and Callie realized Arizona needed a break from the sadness, she told her wife about lunch with Cristina. Callie getting ditched with the bill brought a smile to Arizona's face and Callie never wanted to see that smile go away.

That's when she realized her Dr. Robbins didn't smile like this one. She joked and laughed and smiled, but it wasn't the smile of a completely contented person. It wasn't the smile this Arizona gave her. It wasn't the smile that this Arizona gave her daughter. Genie was right. Callie had to get home and save them both. But first… Sofia need a bath, which Callie was all too happy to volunteer for.

Arizona caught up on her emails, while Callie quickly bathed the increasingly heavy-eyed child. When bath time was over, Callie dressed Sofia in some warm jammies and presented her to Arizona for goodnight kisses and snuggles before bringing her back into the nursery to say goodnight, and goodbye, herself.

Callie wanted to be alone when she said goodbye to this wonderful little girl. This little girl who'd survived so much in her short existence. Who she loved as her own, after only a day. Callie knew there'd be tears and she didn't want to explain them to Arizona.

She gently rocked her and sang the same song she sang to Allegra and the boys. As the song came to an end, she let her tears flow freely. Sofia's soft baby snores the only sound in the room. Callie sat there and held her way longer than necessary, so long that when she finally stood to put Sofia in her crib, she noticed they weren't alone. Arizona's silhouette was outlined in the doorway of the darkened room. Callie gently put Sofia down, then leaned over and kissed her one last time. She nonchalantly wiped at her tears as she felt Arizona come up next to her and lean over the railing for a sweet baby kiss of her own. When she straightened back up, she put her arm around Callie and whispered, "Was Little Miss being difficult? You took a really long time, I missed you."

Callie smiled in the darkness. "No need to miss me, I'm right here."

"Come on, it's getting late. Let's go to bed."

* * *

Callie's heart beat so forcefully in her chest, she wondered if Arizona could feel it from her position next to her in the bed. As much as she wanted to, she knew she couldn't _sleep_ with Arizona, she wouldn't do that to either of them. This was her Arizona, and she wasn't the woman this Arizona wanted.

Arizona looked up from the medical journal she was reading and saw Callie nervously fidgeting with the blanket. She closed the book and sat it over on her nightstand and inched a little closer to Callie, who forced herself to look straight ahead.

"Hey," Arizona said. She took her hand and turned Callie's face toward her and leaned in for a gentle kiss, which Callie didn't return. "What's wrong?"

"I can't," Callie whispered.

"Why?"

"It… wouldn't be fair to either of us," Callie sighed.

"What does that mean?" Arizona asked. Confusion written all over her face.

Callie smiled gently, "It just means that I love you, but I'm not feeling myself today…" she took Arizona's hand in her own. "Tomorrow I'll be all yours again, I promise. Right now, though, I just want to snuggle while you tell me a story."

"A story? What kind of story?"

Callie scooted down under the comforter, pulling Arizona to lay down with her. Once they were settled, with Callie being the big spoon, she replied. "Our story. Tell me our story."

"You know our story, Calliope," Arizona tried to resist, but Callie's breath on her neck, and warm embrace, made it hard to deny.

"Please? I want to hear it from you, how we met… what you thought, how you felt. Can you do that for me?"

Arizona was still facing away from her wife, "Of course I can. I'd do anything for you… you know that."

"I do know that," Callie sighed.

"Okay, here goes… I guess it all started when I filled in for Dr. Kenley…"

"Wait, wait… stop. Promise me something first?"

"Anything," Arizona replied.

"Promise me you won't forget tonight," Callie's voice broke, causing Arizona to turn in her arms so they were face to face. Arizona studied her wife's face carefully as she spoke. "I know… I know it's just one random normal night, in a long life of normal happy nights, but I need you to remember it, okay? Can you do that for me? No matter what happens, remember tonight. Remember me? Please?"

"Calliope, you're scaring me. What's wrong?"

"Do you promise?"

"Of course… I promise," Arizona said. Concern still etched on her face.

"Then nothing is wrong," Callie swore. "I'm just feeling emotional today. I swear it's nothing…"

"Are you sure?" Arizona asked again. She gently wiped the tears that escaped Callie's gorgeous brown eyes.

"Beyond a shadow of a doubt," Callie replied. She even managed a smile of reassurance. "Now, hold me while fall asleep to sound of your voice."

"Okay… where was I? Oh, yeah… so, I'd seen you around the hospital, but hadn't really had a chance to approach you…" Arizona narrated their epic tale. A saga that started in a dirty bar bathroom and ended with Arizona's belief in their happily ever after.

Callie fought to stay awake as long as she could, but the strong arms, warm bed, and dulcet tones of her wife's voice telling the story of their love brought her a peace she hadn't known could exist. Her eyes drifted closed and her body succumbed to exhaustion.


	5. Chapter 5

.

Callie had finally drifted off, surrounded by the warmth of Arizona's body and the smell of her soft lavender shampoo. She'd never felt so safe and content. She tried to stay in that memory for as long as she could.

She dreamed of multiple parallel universes and blended realities. Worlds were she had Allegra, Gavin and Angus, but she also had Sofia and Arizona. Her subconscious took her on quite a journey, most of which she would never remember, but she always came back to Arizona's warm embrace and the smell of her soft lavender shampoo.

Until now. Now she smelled maple syrup and warm breath laced with… apple juice?

She opened her eyes to the sight of four identical brown eyes staring back at her from two adorably sticky faces, both mere inches from her own. Callie smiled.

"Hi," Angus said.

"You wake, Mommy?" asked Gavin.

"I am now," She smiled. Callie had only been away for what felt like a day, but she missed her kids, oh so much. "Come up here, give me some snuggles, BoGo," she sat up in her bed and helped the boys climb in. She took the sippy cup of apple juice that Gavin was holding and sat it on the nightstand, then she grabbed them up and hugged and kissed them all over. She would need time to think… time to figure out what to do, but right now she just needed her kids.

Allegra came skipping by the room, she comically halted when she saw her brothers in bed with her mother. Her eyes large and round, her face one of shock and indignation. "I'm telling Daddy!"

"No," both boys yelled.

"He said not to wake Mommy," Allegra scolded.

"We din't," Gavin said. "I pwomise."

"We was just lookin' at her," Gus argued. "She woked up by herself!"

"Daddy said 'if she was 'zausted enough to sleep through her alarm, she needed the extra rest.'" Callie laughed at her daughter's fairly accurate impression of Owen.

"Was you 'zausted, Mommy?" Angus asked.

"What is 'zausted?" Gavin followed his brother's question with one of his own.

Callie smiled at the interaction. Allegra was a stickler for the rules and she hated when her brothers did things they weren't supposed to. "It's okay sweetheart," she informed Allegra, "I was already awake." She turned to the boys, "Yes, I was pretty exhausted, Gus… and that just means I was extra tired, Gav." Then back to Allegra, "I have a question for _you_, baby girl. Why is there an empty Allegra shaped spot on this bed? You get up here and give Mommy some hugs too."

"Daddy fixed waffles," Allegra informed her mother as she climbed into the bed.

"They was yummy," Gavin said.

"They _were_ yummy, Gav," Callie corrected.

"You din have any, Mommy," Gavin said.

"How did _you_ know they was yummy?" Gus finished his brother's thought.

"She didn't._ You used the wrong word_," Allegra explained. "She was just correcting you … right, Mommy? You don't say 'they was yummy'…"

"But they was!" Gavin protested. Gus just ignored them and started jumping on the bed.

Owen chose that moment to enter the room. "What's going on in here? Are you guys bothering your mother?"

"Of course they aren't bothering me, Owen." Callie said. Her body involuntarily tightened at the sight of him.

"They woke Mommy up," Allegra tattled on the boys.

"She said your waffles wasn't yummy," Gavin countered, pointing toward his sister.

"I was already up, and Allie thought your waffles were delicious. You guys stop fighting," Callie said.  
"Now, give me some hugs and let Daddy help you get dressed so I can get up and get ready for work."

As Owen shuffled the kids out of the room Callie called out to him, "Thanks for giving me a few extra minutes this morning. Can we… uh… talk later?"

"Sure. Is everything okay?" Owen replied.

"No, but it will be. I promise."

* * *

Callie quickly showered and washed her hair with her overly expensive shampoo. The thought of ditching her normal stuff and buying something lavender scented finally forced her to think about yesterday… or was it last night? She knew it was more than just a dream, even if her body didn't physically move, _she was there_. In another reality, where she was apparently happy with all aspects of her life. Over there she was a successful orthopedic surgeon and married to brilliant woman. Over there she was happy… but here? Sure, she was satisfied with her career, and her children gave her life meaning, but she felt alone. She was always alone… in a house full of people.

She stood and stared at herself in the mirror and pondered what she needed to do to get her life back on course. So many things to do, starting with leaving Owen. They would never be happy together, she believed that with every fiber of her being. Even if she and Dr. Robbins weren't _meant to be_ in this universe, she knew that she had to be free of Owen. And Owen needed to be free of her.

Callie had long suspected he wanted out, but didn't have the courage to make it happen. He'd withdrawn into himself almost a year ago and then one night, after a particularly violent reaction to a nightmare, he almost strangled her in her sleep. Luckily the baby monitor chirped and brought him out of his fugue state before too much physical damage could be done, but they both bore the psychological scars of that night. Callie was afraid to sleep for weeks, so he'd started spending his nights at the hospital- claiming work, but Callie knew it was for her protection. After they played the avoidance game for a while, he started sleeping at home again, but he moved to the spare room. He maintained it was for her safety and at first she was grateful… she didn't want to wake up dead the next time he had a terror, but as the days turned to weeks and the weeks turned to months, the notion of never having sex again started permeating her thought process. Callie may not have loved Owen, but she loved sex. And so did Owen. They were always compatible in the bedroom and that chemistry made the mistake of their marriage and the reconciliation tolerable. Remove the sex and the whole carefully constructed farce falls apart. That had been almost six months ago, right around the time when he'd started Skyping with Teddy on a nightly basis.

She used to think about sex with Owen constantly, in an absence-makes-the-heart-grow-fonder way, but lately she didn't think of Owen at all. There was brand new star in her fantasy life, someone she wanted to stop fantasizing about and start actually…

"Callie?" Owen knocked on the bathroom door, interrupting her train of though. "Are you finished showering yet? The kids are dressed and ready to go."

Callie sighed and looked again into the steamy mirror. Her hair was wet, longer again and her naked body bore no scars. "I need more time, Owen."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Owen asked, from the other side of the door. "You seem… unhappy."

Callie put both her hands on the sink leaned forward, a laugh bubbled in her throat at the irony. He finally acknowledged her unhappiness on the day she was going to change everything. She turned and opened the door surprising herself and completely shocking her husband as she was standing there completely in the buff. Owen averted his eyes and avoided looking her.

"I… uh… I'm…" Owen stuttered. He hadn't seen his wife naked in months, so his words left him as his brain processed the sight. Callie rolled her eyes in return and reached back to the bathroom and grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself. "Better?"

"I'm sorry," he replied. "I just wasn't expecting…"

"It's okay, Owen…" If he wasn't brave enough to step up and do the right thing, then she would be. Genie said she'd have to be brave. She would have to make the decisions Owen was too weak to make. "Just… go call your mother and see if she can take the kids tonight, we need to fix this," Callie pointed back and forth between them. "Once and for all. Do you understand?"

Owen looked confused for a second, and then, as he realized what Callie was talking about, a gloomy look of acceptance took over his face. Which, actually surprised Callie. She was sure he'd be relieved, but instead he looked sad.

"Okay… do uh… you want me to take the munchkins on to daycare while you finish getting ready?" He asked as he backed his way out of Callie's bedroom.

"Sure, tell them I'll come lunch with them if I get time," Callie replied. Just as he was about to step out of her bedroom. "Owen…" He looked back from across the room. "It's going to be okay… I promise."

* * *

Owen shut the bedroom door and quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket. His fingers flew over the keyboard as he typed out a message. He sighed and hit send.

_'I'm in trouble… I think my wife wants to have sex with me tonight.'_

When no response came right away, he put the phone back in his pocket and started getting the kids backpacks and lunches together. He shuffled the three out the door and started the tedious process of hooking belts and latching car seats. With the kids secured he rounded the SUV to get into the driver seat his phone finally buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at the text.

_'You need to tell her.' _

He got in the driver's seat and buckled himself in. He looked in the rearview mirror at his kids happily playing in the back.

_'I don't want to lose my family.'_ He typed back.

_'Then man up and do something about it. Either commit to her fully or let her go. This isn't healthy for anyone.' _Came the response. _'Besides, Callie's not vindictive. She wouldn't take your kids… would she?'_

_'When I cheated on her she announced it to everyone in a meeting.'_

_'Yeah… and I don't blame her. You cheated Owen.'_

_'I know.'_

_'Did she keep your daughter from you when you were separated back then?'_

_'No, she didn't.' _

_'Then why would she now? I have to go… text me later let me know what you decided.'_

"Daddy? Are we waiting for Mommy?" Allegra asked.

Owen looked once again in the rearview mirror, "No, sweetie. It's just us this morning. You'll see her at lunch, though… okay?"

"Let's go, Daddy," Gavin beeped the little horn on the toy steering wheel that was attached to his car seat. "Wanna drive."

"I'm drivin', Gav, it's my turn," Gus complained.

"Gus is right, you drove home last night," Allegra informed.

"Only cause he falled asleep. It's not fair!" Gavin whined.

"You know it's okay for both of you to drive, right?" Owen explained. "This is a smart car, so if you both drive it will be able to take the instructions from your steering wheels and combine them. No problem."

"Is that true, Daddy?" Angus asked, amazed.

"Of course it is, Gus," Owen started the car and slowly backed them out of the driveway. "Alright boys, get us to the hospital."

"Yay!"

* * *

Callie was barely through the hospital door before she was paged to the ER. The case turned out to be familiar as she had just done a pericardiocentesis on the same guy yesterday.

"Dr. Torres, I'm glad you're here," April Kepner said. "He took a steering wheel to the sternum, he's having chest pain, shortness of breath…"

"Prep him for an emergency pericardiocentesis," Callie said as she quickly gloved up, "he has a pericardial tamponade. We need to drain it, then get him to the OR to repair the aortic dissection."

"You can tell all of that just by looking at him?"

"I'm that good, Dr. Kepner, don't you forget it, but… uh… man the echo, just in case." Callie called for an ultrasound machine to confirm her diagnosis. Once it was confirmed, she started the emergency procedure. "Eighteen gauge…"

Callie was in and out and had the procedure completed in a matter of seconds… thoroughly impressing the young resident. "That was amazing, Dr. Torres. I can't believe you could tell that just from a quick visual examination."

"I told you I was a rockstar," Callie laughed. "Plus… years of experience, you know what to look for." What she didn't say out loud was that she had done the same procedure on the same man in another universe… she wondered if all of today was going be like that. Déjà vu style. "You wanna scrub in? Help me repair the tear?"

"I would love to, Dr. Torres," Kepner looked around as if she were frightened, "but what about Yang and…" she swallowed hard before saying the next name, "Webber?"

"Yang was on all night, she needs to go home. And what's Webber going to do?"

"Uh… have her mother fire me? She's still mad about… other stuff."

"That stuff with Karev?"

"Yes," April looked ashamed.

"Do you mind if I give you a word of advice on that subject?" April shook her head no. Callie motioned for the nurse, "Get me an OR and prep him for transport the surgical floor, we'll meet you up there. Kepner, you come with me." As soon as they were alone on the elevator Callie said, "You did her a favor. They weren't right for each other, they weren't meant to be. She'll realize that and forgive you."

"How do you know?"

"A genie told me," Callie deadpanned.

"Wuh?" April made a face.

"I'm kidding," Callie lied. "The signs are there, April. If Karev was meant for her, would he have been having a secret relationship with you?"

"I guess not," April conceded.

"She'll find the man of her dreams. Maybe she already has…"

"What about me?" April asked. "Is Alex the one for me?"

"What do you think?" Callie asked. April just shrugged her shoulders. "Do you really want to be with a guy who would sleep with you while getting engaged to your friend?"

"I guess not… but he was my first. Do you think he could ever love me?"

"I think right now, Alex Karev, loves himself and only himself. He needs someone to kick his ass, get him to care about something other than his own gratification and ambition. Do you think you could be that person?"

"I don't know," April sighed. "He hasn't even talked to me since 'the incident' and Webber hasn't either. She's become best friends with Yang… and it's freaking me out. When they look at me, sometimes I feel like I should fear for my life. They look like they are planning my demise," April shuddered. "And I'm only half joking."

Callie laughed, "I don't think you need to fear for your life, and if Webber were going to have Ellis fire you, she'd have done so by now."

"You are so lucky to have Dr. Hunt. I wish I could have a relationship like that."

"Okay, I'm going to stop you right there," Callie said. The elevator dinged their arrival at the surgical floor and the two women stepped off together. "We'll see if you feel the same way this time tomorrow."

"You and Dr. Hunt are having problems? No…. no… You can't," April whined. "I love you guys."

Callie clamped her hand over April's mouth. "Keep your voice down, nobody knows. _He_ doesn't even know." Callie removed her hand from April's mouth.

"You told me a secret? Wow… I didn't know we were that close."

"Yeah, well don't let it go to your head," Callie said as they made their way into the scrub room. "My only other two friends have either been fired or is on maternity leave. I had to tell someone. I figured you kept your relationship with Karev a secret, I could trust you with mine."

"Oh my god," Kepner's eyes went wide at the implication. "You're having an affair?"

"No, god!" Callie looked at April with disgust. "I would never."

"_He's_ having an affair?"

"Stop prematurely jumping to the wrong conclusions," Callie admonished. "It's annoying."

"Sorry. I just assumed because you mentioned my unfortunate circumstance… wait, if no one is cheating…" April looked around to assure they were alone. "Has he ever… been violent with you? I know he smashed a window in the ER a couple weeks ago."

"No… not… It's nothing like that, we … we don't love each other April, we just aren't meant to be. We were a mistake from the start, but I'm fixing it… tonight."

"Well, good luck, Dr. Torres. I hope things work out for the both of you."

"Me too," Callie sighed. They finished scrubbing in silence. "You ready to save a life?"

"Always."

* * *

The surgery went spectacularly well and Callie found herself impressed with April's skills, but much to her surprise, she also enjoyed the younger redhead's company. With the procedure finally finished, Callie and April went their separate ways.

Thinking about the operation she just performed and how it was the same guy as yesterday, Callie wondered if anything else was the same. She checked the surgical board and, sure enough, Arizona had been paged in early for an emergency and was supposed to be in OR 4… but Callie suspected, if things went as they did in her dream… trip… whatever, that Dr. Robbins' tiny patient didn't fare as well as hers. Which meant Dr. Robbins was somewhere in this hospital in need of some comfort. She turned to the scheduling nurse stationed at the surgical floor main desk asked if Dr. Robbins was still in surgery. She found her suspicions to be true. Dr. Robbins' surgery had gone south just a few minutes ago and she was currently informing the parents.

Callie was apparently incapable of not trying to console the woman she loved, but barely knew, which is how she found herself pretending to text just down the hall from the family waiting room. The room where a family was being devastated at this very moment. She felt a bit of shame that the family wasn't her main concern, but they would have plenty of support. Hospital counsellors would help with the initial aftermath, and they would likely never be the same, but Callie only cared about the surgeon giving the news. Before long the blonde exited the waiting room and slowly made her way toward the attending surgeon's lounge. There was no spring in her step and her shoulders hung low, Callie couldn't help but follow.

Entering the lounge, after waiting a whole torturous minute so as not to be too obvious, Callie casually strolled over to where Arizona was mindlessly stirring her coffee.

"Hello," Callie said.

Arizona looked up from what she was doing and managed to smile, "Dr. Torres, how are you?"

"I uh… heard you lost a patient," Callie swallowed, "I thought you might need a friend?"

"Are we friends, Dr. Torres?" Arizona took a sip of her coffee.

"I'd like to think so."

Arizona tilted her head and really took in the woman in front of her. They'd never interacted in an overly friendly way before, they were colleagues at best, but they did have a break through moment during their artificial lung case a few weeks back. Maybe they could be something more than adversarial coworkers. "Then I guess we are. But… I'm fine. Really. I just need to drink my coffee and get on with my day. It's how I cope."

"Okay, then. Oh…. Uh, speaking of beverages, we never did get that drink," Callie said. "Maybe we could…?"

"Maybe," Arizona replied, still a bit guarded.

"Actually… I, uh, may have some time coming up. Can I call you… _when I'm free_?" Callie asked.

Arizona just stared at her for a few seconds, as if she were trying to suss out if there were ulterior motives. Callie stared to panic, maybe she'd overstepped.

"I'd like that," Arizona finally said.

Callie released the breath she was holding and her smiled practically broke her face. "I'll uh… I'll call you then."

"Sounds good," Arizona smiled, dimples in full effect. Callie may or may not have swooned a little. "Um, Dr. Torres… are you okay?"

"What?" Callie questioned. "Why do you ask?"

Arizona pointed to Callie's wrist, "You… appear to be taking your pulse."

After leaving Dr. Robbins in the lounge, she leaned back against the closed door, mortified by her actions. Checking her pulse… what was she thinking? She needed to get herself together. She was a grown woman, asking a _friend_ to drinks, not some teenager asking for a prom date. She had to get her bearings. Firm up some courage before talking to Dr. Robbins again.

* * *

The rest of the day went by without incident, no more freaky occurrences of déjà vu. Just a regular day that would end with Callie turning her world upside down.

She spent half her lunch with the kids in daycare and the other half stalking Dr. Robbins in the cafeteria, who was with that ortho surgeon again. Callie was almost sure that hussy had questionable intentions… and questionable morals. She _almost_ felt bad about thinking such bad thoughts about another woman. Someone who had never wronged her in anyway. She was just some random ortho surgeon that she didn't even know… someone who just happened to be having lunch with Callie's soulmate. Unfortunately, her jealously was slightly stronger than her sense of goodwill, so the bad thoughts won out.

Soon, Callie thought, soon she would be the one sitting there having lunch with Dr. Robbins, and there would be no question of her intentions. _Soon_.

* * *

Callie pulled into the garage just after 7 PM. Owen had dropped the kids off at his mother's for the night, so they had the full evening to talk and make important decisions. Not about their marriage, that decision was made. She was done, for her there would be no conversations beyond asset splitting and custody. She just hoped Owen was amenable to her needs.

She entered through the mudroom door that connected the garage to the kitchen, she half expected him to be sitting at the kitchen table waiting for her. She was quite surprise to find the room empty.

"Owen?" Callie called out. "Hellooo? Owen?"

"Upstairs," came the answering call. "In the bedroom."

"Okay, I'll be right up." Callie hung her keys on the hook, and dropped her bag on the kitchen table. She ascended the stairs, practicing in her head what she was going to say, then headed directly to the spare room that Owen had been sleeping in. It was empty. "Owen?"

"In our bedroom," he replied.

"Huh…" Callie was confused. He'd previously moved most of his clothes to the spare room closet and used the attached bathroom, so he rarely entered their room at all anymore. She entered her bedroom to find him there waiting for her. He had just finished removing his tie when she came through the door. She kicked her shoes off and walked over and put them in their place in her closet and when she turned back around Owen was removing his shirt. "I, uh… want to talk to you about…"

"You don't have to say anything, Callie," Owen interrupted. He unbuckled his belt and was now unbuttoning his pants. "I know what this is about." He dropped his trousers and boxers to the floor.

Callie was dumbstruck for a moment. Owen was standing there naked, but for his socks… pants around his ankles.

"Let's do this," he pointed toward the bed.

"Please, _please_ pull your pants up," Callie fought the urge to cover her eyes.

"What?"

"I want a divorce," she blurted instead.

"Okay… not where I thought this was going," Owen slowly bent down and pulled his pants back up. "I thought… this morning with the nakedness… and you said we needed to fix this. I thought you meant sex."

"It's too late for that, Owen" Callie sighed. "We let it go too long. I don't want to have sex with you anymore, ever again. I want us to be happy, but we never will be as long as we hide behind sex. We never will be as long as we are married. I've thought about this a lot. There is no fixing us, we're over. I want a divorce."

"Callie," he sighed. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

He stared at her for a long few seconds, his face unreadable, then slowly the lines in his forehead smoothed, and the tightness of his posture softened. His eyes filled with tears. Callie knew they were not tears of grief, but those of relief.

"What about the kids?" Owen managed to rasp over the lump in his throat.

"We have all night to talk about that," Callie smiled. "Put your clothes back on, let's go downstairs… order a pizza, drink a few beers… and figure this all out."

And that's what they did… ate pizza, drank too many beers, and talked about how great their kids were. They agreed, no matter what… they would remain friends and every decision they made henceforth, the kids came first. It was the most pleasant evening they'd had together in a long, long time. They were free of their obligation to pretend, and that made all the difference.

At the end of the conversation it was decided that Owen would stay, in the spare room, one last night, before moving to his mother's. As they parted for bed, Owen grabbed Callie and pulled her into a hug.

"Thank you," he said.

"For what?"

"For being brave enough to end us."

Callie went to bed that night with a smile on her face, ready to take the next step in her new life.


	6. Chapter 6

**Note: ***If you don't follow me on tumbr ignore this note as it will be confusing… not that anyone actually reads these anyway, but- just for fun every time you read Callie 'blurted' pretend it says 'ejaculated'. I typed it, but just couldn't bring myself to leave it…

**Note 2:** I'm on vacation next week so no updates until week after.

.

Almost a week had passed since Callie and Owen had agreed to end their marriage. Things were transitioning fairly smoothly. A legal separation was filed for, and the news was broken to the kids that weekend. Allegra was frightened and confused at first, but temporarily diverted with the prospect of spending more time with her beloved Nana, Owen's mom. The boys, however, were surprisingly indifferent. Gavin even informed them that he didn't even know they were married. His friend Bobby from daycare said married people sleep together, and he couldn't ever remember Callie and Owen doing that, so the fact that they would no longer be 'married' meant absolutely nothing to him. Gus agreed with Gavin's assessment totally. They hadn't been acting like a family for a long time, and the effects of Callie and Owen's distance had already been felt

Callie believed with all her heart that this was the right decision for them as a family. Owen needed help that she couldn't provide, and the kids needed to see what true happiness was. Callie hoped that she would be able show her children that happiness with Dr. Robbins. She knew it was possible, she'd seen it with her own eyes, but as it was now, here in this universe… she wasn't even on a regular first name basis with Dr. Robbins.

Patience wasn't something Callie Torres normally possessed, well it was something she kind of possessed, but only in fits and starts. She was patient until her mind was made up, then she went after what she wanted with everything she had. What Callie really wanted right now was Dr. Robbins. She'd been patient for so long, it was hard for her to remain patient now.

The past year and a half had been nothing but professional, on the surface, but underneath, Callie long harbored, what she thought, was a harmless admiration of the beautiful blonde pediatric surgeon. It turned out to be much more than that.

It started innocently enough; several months before the Owen incident, the boys were about eight months old and Allegra barely three. Just one random Saturday morning… Callie had the kids at the park early. Owen was working, as usual, leaving Callie alone with the munchkins. The playground they frequented shared a parking lot with the public tennis courts and that's where she saw her. Dr. Arizona Robbins standing by a tiny little sports car, the kind Callie _used_ to want before she had three car seats to make room for, in a tight little tennis outfit… kissing another woman.

Callie had always known she had an attraction to women. She'd even dated a few in the past. She also recognized, that just because she'd married a man- that attraction didn't just disappear. Knowing that Dr. Robbins was also into women forever changed how she viewed her colleague. She knew it shouldn't, but it did.

The following Monday, she mentioned what she saw in the park to her friend Addison, who wasn't surprised. How had Addie known Dr. Robbins was gay and she hadn't? The answer was simple, Addison actually talked to Dr. Robbins on a regular basis. Their specialties crossed over from time to time and they interacted in a friendly way. Addison informed Callie that Dr. Robbins wasn't closeted, she was just careful who she shared her outside life with. Apparently, Callie didn't rate. Addison went on to inform Callie that Arizona, did indeed, have a girlfriend. Someone she was serious about… which made Callie irrationally angry. She felt irritated every time she had to work with Dr. Robbins.

Then the Owen trying to kill her in her sleep stuff happened and Callie was distracted and miserable for months. She had been so busy, wrapped up in her own life, she'd lost interest in Arizona… she'd lost interest in most things. Until she saw Dr. Robbins duck into an on-call room in tears. Her interest was piqued once again. All she wanted to do was go and comfort her… but, she didn't. She couldn't. They weren't even friends. She later heard through the hospital grapevine (Addison mostly) that Arizona had officially broken-up with her girlfriend. Dr. Robbins was brokenhearted and single.

Suddenly, all Callie wanted was be closer to beautiful blonde… in any way she could. She felt drawn to her. She often made excuses for them to work together. She even subconsciously scheduled her lunch so she could be in the cafeteria the same time as the pediatric surgeon, by chance at first, and never obsessively, but enough that Callie eventually realized she was developing some serious one-sided feelings toward Dr. Robbins. She even sparked back up their somewhat adversarial relationship in an attempt to get a reaction, any reaction from Arizona. Thinking back, Callie felt a little creepy, but she never crossed any boundaries. Just some harmless admiring from afar. The more time she spent around the object of her affection the more her feelings grew. She also knew that she'd never be able to act on those feelings. She was married and had children, her unrequited adoration was always going to be secret.

Then she met Genie and took her little trip and suddenly her world tilted. Her year and a half of fascination had reached its boiling point. That one glorious evening spent with alternate Arizona (and what could be) had sealed the deal. Callie's feelings couldn't be described as a girl crush anymore, they weren't a professional _or_ personal admiration. Oh no, she _wanted_ Arizona Robbins, she _loved_ Arizona Robbins.

Now that Callie no longer had a reason to deny her feelings, she was ready to take charge of her life… to stop letting things happen to her, and start making things happen for her.

She had taken the first step toward her destiny by separating from her husband. Making it official. Now, she just needed to take the second step, but she didn't know how. Should she just ask Dr. Robbins out on a date? What if she was dating someone? Or should she just try to be friends at first? Maybe have that drink they kept discussing. Something… anything to break the ice.

Callie had tried several months ago to inquire about Arizona's personal life, but had been shut down by Dr. Robbins. She said she didn't really have time for much of a personal life, but what little she had, she preferred to keep it out of the hospital. That was that, the last time Callie had tried to ask about anything beyond work. There were times, though, when she caught Dr. Robbins staring at her, which made her question how one-sided her interest was. When they worked the artificial lung case… and they'd hugged? It didn't feel one-sided, it felt like potential. That's what she was holding onto. That little bit of hope that she wasn't the only one who'd suppressed interest because she was married.

And that's how she found herself standing at Dr. Robbins lunch table, blurting the words, "I'm getting a divorce."

Arizona's face change for a millisecond into something Callie couldn't quite pinpoint, but Ortho surgeon just stared back.

"Uh… what I mean is…" Callie babbled. "Dr. Hunt and I are separated. I just wanted to tell you. So you would know…"

"I'm so sorry, Dr. Torres," Arizona replied. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, you know… I am," Callie smiled. "I'm more than okay, I'm relieved. It's been a long time coming."

Ortho looked back and forth between the two women, who had both stopped talking and were now just staring at one another. She cleared her throat, bringing both Callie and Arizona out of their gaze.

"Oh, uh… I'm sorry for interrupting your lunch," Callie said. She couldn't believe she got caught staring. "I'll let you get back to it." She started to back away.

"Thanks," Ortho said.

At the same time Arizona replied. "You weren't interrupting anything. You don't have to run off so fast."

"Arizona, I thought we were going to talk about the… you know…" Ortho said.

Callie got the impression that Ortho Whats-her-face really wanted her to leave, but Arizona had asked her to stay… she really didn't want to give Ortho the satisfaction of running her off.

"I'm sorry, we haven't met. I'm Callie Torres, Cardio," Callie held her hand out for the thus far nameless woman to shake, "and you are?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm sorry… where are my manners?" Arizona looked at her friend, then back up at Callie. "Dr. Samantha Wylie, this Dr. Calliope Torres… the cardiothoracic surgeon I had the artificial lung case with? Remember I told you about her? How great she was?"

"I remember you saying how infuriating she was," Dr. Wylie said as she shook Callie's hand.

"I did not," Arizona protested, she gave a stern look to her friend, then turned back to Callie. "I swear I was nothing but complimentary… uh, _after_ it was successful…" she smiled a little sheepishly.

Callie already didn't like Dr. Wylie, and she wasn't doing herself any favors by doing whatever it was she was trying to do… but Callie did kind of enjoy seeing Dr. Robbins flounder about, trying to talk her way out of the thorny position Dr. Wylie put her in.

"Is that right, Dr. Robbins?" Callie teased. "You were _nothing_ but complimentary?"

"Well, maybe I did complain a little at first…"

"She called you a raging psycho with control issues," Wylie said.

"Sam!" Arizona shouted.

"Okay, that got harsh fast…" Callie said.

"Dr. Torres… Callie. She's joking," Arizona stood and grabbed Callie's hand. "I would never..."

Callie looked down at their clasped hands and smiled. That bitch could call her whatever she wanted if the apology involved Arizona touching her. Besides, all surgeons had control issues, Callie knew they butted heads on that case quite a bit. At least Arizona didn't say she was boring.

"Arizona, be honest," Sam laughed. "Every night that we met up at Joe's… for the few weeks you guys were on that case together, you were so… heated. Frustrated. You thought she hated you."

Callie looked at the ground embarrassed, had Arizona really felt that way? Had Callie's innocent fight-picking backfired? Did Dr. Robbins really think she was a crazy controlling bitch? Callie was fun, easy-going… she was no Ellis Grey.

"Sam, stop it," Arizona pleaded. "Please, tell Dr. Torres you are joking… and apologize to her."

"I'm sorry… Arizona didn't _exactly_ call you a psycho… not in those words," Sam said, this time she did reach out to shake Callie's hand. "Really… I'm sorry. I promise…. Friends?"

Callie didn't believe that woman wanted to be her friend for a second, but Arizona seemed genuinely mortified by her friend's outburst, so she reluctantly dropped Arizona's soft hand and shook Samantha's. Callie thought it was an awfully weak handshake for an orthopedic surgeon.

Thing got awkward quickly, so Callie decided she needed to get away, rethink her game plan. Maybe getting this Arizona to fall in love with her wasn't going to be as easy as she thought.

"Actually, I better go," Callie said. "The boys are expecting me to stop by daycare for lunch. They really miss me on Allegra's preschool days."

"Okay," Arizona replied, she felt bad that her friend had revealed stuff that she had said in confidence. She didn't want Callie to leaving thinking she meant those things, so she beamed a full dimpled smile. Trying to impart that there were no hard feelings. "I'm… happy for you?"

"Hmm?" Callie lost the ability to think with that smile directed at her. "Happy for me?"

"Your divorce?" Arizona replied. "Or are we sad?"

"No… definitely happy," Callie quickly added. "Just a lot happening all at once is all."

"Well, if you need someone to talk about it with…"

"I'll, uh… find you," Callie replied. "I promise."

Callie walked away, head held high, she heard from behind her "Dr. Wylie, what the hell was that about? You need to explain yourself. I said that stuff in confidence…"

* * *

Callie spent the rest of afternoon sulking. She needed to talk to someone, but neither Addison nor her sister were answering the phone… so she grabbed the first surgeon walking by.

"Kepner!"

"Oh, hello Dr. Torres… how are things?" April tentatively asked. "I heard about… you know… the uh… thing with Dr. Hunt."

"Owen and I are separated… we are divorcing. No one died, no need for eggshells," Callie sighed. "I need to ask you something."

"Okay… shoot," April said.

"Am I a raging psycho with control issues?" Callie blurted.

"What? No… Dr. Torres, you aren't… _really_," April replied.

"Gee, thanks, Kepner, you sound so convincing."

"Well… do you want me to be totally honest with you?" April asked.

"No, I want you to lie to me… of course I want you to be honest. Spit it out," Callie was already frustrated, and now she was getting a headache.

"Okay… sometimes, not all the time… just sometimes, you can be a bit of a grumpus."

"That's not a word, Kepner," Callie replied. Her head was starting to throb so she rubbed her temples to release some tension. "I need real help here, not nonsense words."

"My mother uses that word, she says it's so silly…"

"Kepner, just… stop… I need you to speak differently..." Callie said, her headache increased with every sound April uttered.

"I'm sorry?" April wasn't quite sure what Callie was asking.

"It's your voice. It's a little- Just speak differently."

"Like with an accent?" April's face twisted with confusion. "I guess I can try…"

"Oh my god, Dr. Robbins is right… I _am_ a raging psycho with control issues!" Callie blurted. "I'm sorry, April… I have to go. Your voice is lovely… I promise." Callie swiftly left the puzzled resident behind.

After moping around the hospital for the rest of the afternoon, mostly avoiding Dr. Robbins, her shift was finally over. Owen had the kids tonight, so Callie was free of responsibility or the first time in a very long time. She had no idea what to do with herself. What did single childfree people do with themselves?

* * *

Sitting alone at a bar sipping on something the bartender recommended wasn't how Callie imagined her life post Owen. Sure it had only been a week, but she wanted it all to happen right now.

Of course, Dr. Robbins wasn't going to magically fall in love with her just because she was suddenly single, but oh how she wished it could be that easy. Callie had baggage, and she knew it… plus, it was her own fault that Arizona thought she was _overbearing_. She'd intentionally been cultivating an adversarial relationship for months. It was stimulating at the time, but now she regretted it. She needed to think… no, she needed to _drink_.

She took another big gulp of her… Scotch? She'd asked for something expensive, she felt like splurging on herself. It was a bit strong for her tastes, but it was doing its job. Getting her drunk.

Callie swirled her drink to blend it with the melting ice. She was so bored. She was about to strike up a conversation with Joe, the bartender, when someone sat one seat down from her. Callie looked up from her drink and immediately knew who it was. Though she'd never met him here, she'd shared one conversation… and a child with him in the alternate universe.

"Addison's baby daddy, right?" she asked.

"You must be a friend of Derek's." Mark laughed.

"Not really," Callie replied. She reached over to shake Mark's hand "Dr. Torres. Callie. I am a friend of Addison's, though. So, I've heard about you."

"Mark Sloan," he introduced himself.

"Bad day?" Callie asked.

"You could say that. You?"

"Oh yeah…"

"So what have you heard about me, exactly?" Marked asked. He slid over onto the barstool right next to Callie's.

"Mostly things that involve the words dirty and bad…" Callie smiled. "You are the father of Addison's unborn baby… and you are trying take her back to New York with you."

"Right. I guess there really is no starting over, is there?" He sighed. "Can I buy you a drink Callie?"

"Only if you don't read anything into it," Callie replied. "Because I'm not interested beyond a drink and maybe some conversation."

Mark sized her up. "Are you sure about that? I've heard some things about you, too. Addison can be quite chatty. Said you were divorcing… and haven't had sex in almost a year. That's gotta be tough."

"She said that? Ugh, how does she even know? She won't answer her phone! Wait… so are you really going to hit on me, with your pregnant girlfriend… _my friend_, at home on early maternity leave waiting to pop?"

"She's in LA," Mark replied. "And… she's not my girlfriend. She doesn't want me. The baby's not mine."

Callie's eyes widened at the revelation, "Oh, gossip, do tell," She took a sip of her drink. "Is it actually Derek's?"

"Not really my story to tell, but no… it's not."

"Wow…. I don't even know what to think… Why… why is the big rumor around the hospital it's your baby?"

"Derek jumped to conclusions, that's on him. He's so smug… and she's been calling me for months, upset about him. I wanted her, and I would have raised that baby… but she doesn't want me or Derek."

"Why wouldn't she talk to me about this? I'm her friend."

"Maybe that judgey face you are making is the reason."

"What? No… I'm not judging her," Callie said. "Who am I to judge? I've been not sleeping with my husband and secretly lusting after someone else for months. I have no room to judge anyone. Why would she keep this secret from me?"

"Sounds like the both of you have been keeping secrets," Mark replied, his grin somewhat lecherous. "Who are you lusting after?"

"That's none of your business,"

"I know it's not Derek, he's not attractive enough for you anymore… he's really let himself go. He's in serious need of a shave and a haircut." Mark sized her up, "You are hot… you probably want someone of equal hotness. Let me think… Oh! That Karev guy?"

"God no," Callie shuttered. "_So_ much no, he definitely has too much going on right now." She laughed, "But I think it's adorable that you think Karev is hot."

"I can appreciate a good looking man," Mark replied. "Hmm. I _will_ figure this out... I'm good at reading people."

"Right," Callie was skeptical.

"What will you give me if I do?"

"Not sex," Callie laughed.

"Respect?"

"Has to be earned," Callie countered. "And guessing who I have the hots for is not respect worthy."

"How about, if I guess it right… you give me the benefit of the doubt and let me buy you a drink?"

"A drink with no expectations?"

"Just a friendly drink."

"Why are you so desperate to buy me a drink," Callie asked.

"Honestly?" Callie nodded her head yes, "With Addison gone, I don't have any friends in Seattle. I'm lonely, and she's quite fond of you. So I figured you'd be… I don't know… nice." Mark answered.

"Fine," Callie relented, she knew what it was like to be lonely. "Give it your best shot."

"Okay, but you have to answer one question first."

"What?" Callie blurted. "Oh… no, that's not part of the deal."

"Come on… I've only been here a month… I just said I don't know anyone here."

"Why are you still here anyway? If Addison is gone… and Derek hates you… What is keeping you here?"

"Ellis Grey," he replied. "Initially I was going to stay until the baby was born, but… Addie skipped town, so I was going to go too. But Dr. Grey asked me to stay and consult on an upcoming surgery. A big one. Conjoined twins in Boise."

"Oh, yeah. A large team of surgeons from our hospital are going. Derek included."

"Yeah, well that woman is really difficult to say no to, so I signed a temporary contract… six months max. Then I'm out of here," Mark motioned to Joe for another drink. "Stop deflecting. Are you going to let me ask my question so I can tell you who you are lusting after?"

"Mmm, okay…" Callie relented. "_One_ question."

"This person you want… what is their best feature?"

"Eyes. They have _beautiful_ eyes… oh and their smile is radiant… they just sparkle, you know?"

"Well, now I already know who it is. You are easy, Callie. Can I call you Callie?"

"Not if you call me easy!" Callie laughed and smacked him on the arm. No wonder her alternate self was fond of him. He wasn't without charm. "So, who's your guess?"

"Oh, it's not a guess. I know for sure… it's…" Mark paused for effect. "Jackson Avery."

"What!" Callie burst out laughing. "Oh my god, you couldn't be more wrong."

"I can't be… he is the best looking dude at that hospital, besides me… and I don't' count. He has sparkle."

"Well, maybe he does, but I'm not into sparkly men," Callie chuckled. "It sounds like you are, though." She smiled. "First Karev and now Avery?"

"I'm secure in myself, you won't scandalize me with your implications," Mark said. He looked at her seriously again. "You have a really great smile, Callie."

"Thanks, Sloan. I'm still not sleeping with you." Callie said. She put her hand on his arm, "But_, _you can buy me that drink… even though you'll never figure out who I'm interested in."

They sat and drank and chatted for the better part of an hour, in between Mark's wrong guesses, Callie talked about Owen and Mark finally broke down and filled Callie in on Addison.

About nine months ago Addison attended a medical conference in which she met a fellow obstetrician/gynecologist named Jake Reilly. They hit it off… really hit it off, and Addison ended up pregnant. By coincidence or fate, Jake ended up working at the private practice of one of Mark, Derek, and Addison's former med school buddies. Addison was currently in LA breaking the news to him that he was about to be a father.

Mark told Callie that he was almost positive that Addison would move to LA in the near future. Depending on how things went with Jake, she'd maybe even stay down there until she delivered. Callie was disappointed at the possibility of losing her friend, but she of all people knew what it was like to be in a loveless marriage. She was all for Addison finding whatever happiness she could. She'd be a hypocrite to believe otherwise.

The conversation finally circled back around to who Callie was interested in, when the door to the entrance burst open and laughter filled the formerly subdued bar. Callie and Mark both turned to see who was coming through.

Arizona Robbins and three other women came stumbling in, laughing and heading straight for a table by the dartboards. Callie couldn't keep the smile off of her face. Her eyes tracked Arizona as she left the others and went toward the restrooms in the rear of the bar.

"Ah ha," Mark chuckled.

"What 'ah ha'?" Callie said. "There is no 'ah ha' to be had."

"Right. My thinking was too limited, I should have known better. You should go talk to her," Mark pointed his beer in the direction of the bathrooms. "She's hot… and alone right now."

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Please, you've shot down every male doctor I suggested. Then she walks in and your smile lights up like… something really bright." He shook his head, "Wow… I think I've had too much to drink."

"Yeah, well so have I. It's why I can't go talk to her now… I'll say something dumb. I know me."

"It's why you should corner her in the bathroom… ask her to have a drink. Make use of the liquid courage," Mark said. He glanced back toward the bathrooms, "Oops, too late, she's back... Oh… she's coming this way. Be cool."

Callie tried to duck behind Mark, but Arizona had seen her and was walking toward them at the bar. "Crap… crap…. Oh crap." Callie freaked out.

Arizona walked directly up to Mark and held out her hand. "We haven't met… I'm Arizona Robbins, Peds surgery."

"It's nice to meet you, Arizona Robbins, Peds surgery," he took her outstretched hand and shook. "I'm Mark Sloan, plastics."

Arizona stood on her tip-toes and tried to look over Mark's shoulder, "Is that uh… Dr. Torres behind you?"

Callie's head peeked up over Mark's shoulder, "Hi."

"Hi," Arizona replied. "I… uh. I wanted to apologize for today. In the lunch room? Sam was being a real…"

"Asshat?" Callie supplied as she stepped out from her hiding spot behind Mark.

"Yeah," Arizona laughed. "I'm sorry… that was uncalled for… and I told her as much."

"It's okay… she was kind of right."

"No, Callie… she wasn't. You aren't a psycho… I swear I never said any such thing. Please forgive me?"

"It's fine, Dr. Robbins…" Callie smiled. "There's really nothing to forgive."

"But there is though, she was rude. I don't like rude…"

Mark nudged Callie in the ribs. "Hey… uh, how about you make it up to me by having a drink with me tonight?"

"I wish I could, but I'm with someone," Arizona pointed over to the table with the other women she came in with.

Callie's face fell, "Oh."

"How about you find me tomorrow, though… and we can do lunch? Maybe talk about your divorce if you need to?"

"That would be perfect."

"Okay then, I'll see you tomorrow," Arizona smiled at Callie. "I'd better get back." She slowly backed away from Mark and Callie until she bumped into an empty table. "Oops." She laughed, and with one last wave turned and walked back to her friends.

Callie released the breath she'd been holding, practically since Arizona had walked up. "Oh god," she breathed. "That was so scary."

"You did great, Torres," Mark patted her on the back. "Nothing overly embarrassing."

"Really?"

"Really. You want me to call you a cab? You shouldn't drink anymore tonight, you don't want to be too hung-over to enjoy your lunch tomorrow."

"Right, thanks," Callie said. "You aren't half bad, Mark Sloan."

"You only think that because you don't know me that well, Callie Torres."

"Well, I'm going to hug you anyway," Callie replied.

Arizona chanced a look back toward Dr. Torres, her smile faded at the sight of Callie hugging Dr. Sloan. They pulled apart quickly, but Arizona was even more disappointed to see him pay the tab, then the two leave the bar together.


	7. Chapter 7

**Note: **I threw this together quick, so if it's kind of short and disjointed I apologize. I just had to get it out before vacation.

.

Despite being child free, Callie woke early the morning after drinks at Joe's with her surprising new… friend? No, she wouldn't go so far as to call Mark Sloan and herself friends, not after one conversation, but 'friendly' worked. She could be friendly with the man, nothing more… she didn't want to accidently get knocked-up. As much as she loved the little girl she met in the alternate universe, or how much she believed that alternate her and alternate Mark and alternate Arizona had the situation all figured out, she didn't want to ruin her new start. _Friendly_ is all her and this Mark Sloan would ever be.

Callie was up and extremely excited because today she was having lunch with Dr. Arizona Robbins… her _soulmate_. A sandwich with a side of destiny, a fate salad, and an ice cold glass of meant-to-be tea. Oh yes, it was going to be a good day… she could feel it.

She spent extra time that morning getting her hair and make-up perfect. There was a fine line between diligent effort and trying too hard and she was walking it like a tightrope artist. Callie couldn't believe how much work she had to put into getting her whole ensemble to look effortless, but it paid off. She looked hot, but not too hot. She was polished and professional, but not like she was headed to a job interview, and her face was flawless.

Callie knew she looked good and Dr. Robbins would certainly appreciate her appearance. Now all she had to do was not make a fool of herself by saying something stupid. Her game plan was simple, just relax, have a nice lunch, ask Dr. Robbins out on a real date. She hoped keeping it straightforward and uncomplicated would lead to less embarrassing awkwardness. She needed to make her intentions clear so there were no misunderstandings. There wasn't a doubt in her mind about the attraction being mutual and she was sure that once she let Dr. Robbins know she was interested that interest would be reciprocated.

It was going to be a good day.

* * *

She arrived at the hospital looking fine and radiating confidence. Chief Grey didn't have a staff meeting scheduled that morning, so she'd have to track down Dr. Robbins to confirm their lunch date. She wanted to do that first thing, before she had to change into scrubs and stuff her meticulously styled hair into a scrub cap. She wanted Arizona to see her, appreciate her effort.

The first place she headed was the coffee cart in the lobby, she knew from her year of _not stalking_ that Dr. Robbins loved her morning coffee, but a quick scan of the area yielded no sign of the pediatric surgeon. Callie decided to grab them both a coffee then head up to third floor pediatric wing to seek Arizona's whereabouts.

Coffee in hand she headed toward the elevator.

"Looking good, Torres," a now familiar voice said. "That extra coffee for me?"

"Go away, Sloan," Callie replied. "I'm on a mission."

"I can see that," Mark chuckled. He looked her up and down. "I'd say good luck, but you won't need it. Not with that dress." Callie beamed at the compliment. "By the way," he added, "I just saw her in the surgical attending's lounge. She was finishing up some charts before she stared rounds. If you hurry, I bet you can catch her."

"Thanks, Mark," Callie smiled. "Really."

"You're welcome," he replied. Mark turned to leave, but as he did he said over his shoulder, "Be sure to send me an invite to the wedding."

* * *

Callie cursed the elevator for being slow, then thanked it when it finally arrived at her destination. The attending's lounge on the surgical floor was just past the central nurses' station and down the east wing corridor. Callie moved swiftly down the hall toward the small room, when she notice the long silky blonde hair of the object of her search further down the long corridor about to turn into the stairwell.

Callie picked up her pace to try and catch the blonde before she got too far away, but just as Arizona entered the stairwell the door to the lounge flew open and smacked Callie right in the face, knocking her to the ground and spilling coffee everywhere.

"Oh my god! Callie are you okay?" Owen, the door opening culprit, shouted. "Callie? Callie! Look at me. Are you okay?"

Callie reached up and touched her nose causing pain to shoot straight through to the back her skull. She pulled her hand away and it was covered with blood.

"Ow," she said, then everything went black.

* * *

Arizona had waited around in the attending's lounge for as long as she could. She'd been hoping Callie would show up and they could discuss their lunch plans, but she couldn't bring herself to stick around after Callie's soon to be ex-husband entered the lounge to grab some coffee. Not that she had any actual problems with Dr. Hunt, but she'd been kind of secretly admiring his wife for a while now, so interacting with the brunette while the ex was in the room wasn't something she cared to do. She knew she shouldn't have been thinking about her colleague that way, but she couldn't help it. Dr. Torres was hot, _extremely hot_, and even though she'd been off-limits for duration of their acquaintance, Arizona had noticed Callie's hotness. How could she not?

She'd spent many a day thinking about how Owen Hunt didn't deserves someone like Callie Torres, but it wasn't her place to say anything… she and Callie weren't even friends. Yeah, she definitely couldn't be in the room with Owen _and_ an available Callie. She would just have to find Dr. Torres later. She could work her charms when they were alone. Arizona was aware she was being presumptuous thinking she had a shot with the beautiful heart surgeon. As far as everyone in the hospital knew, Callie was a straight as they come, but Arizona had her suspicions. Even if Callie was completely straight, Arizona couldn't resist the temptation. She felt too much potential when they were together, so she had to try. Someone like Dr. Torres wouldn't be single for long. It had only been a week and already Mark Sloan was sniffing about, it wouldn't be long before he had company.

Arizona wasn't really worried about Mark, _yet_. She didn't know what was going on between Callie and him, but she was sure it wasn't to the point of sex thus far. Evidence being: after walking Callie out of Joe's last night, Mark had returned almost immediately. So, either he finished shamefully fast or they didn't sneak off for a sexual encounter.

She was confident and she looked good, now all Arizona needed to do was find Dr. Torres to confirm their lunch.

* * *

"I can't believe this is happening!" Callie said. Her head titled back and she was holding an ice pack to it.

"It wasn't a great nose anyway," Mark said. They were in the ER, in a private trauma room. He teased her while he prepared some local anesthetic.

"Yes, it was. What?" Callie whined. She removed the ice pack, revealing a swollen bloody nose, stuffed with gauze. "It was a nice nose."

"Relax," Mark replied. "I was kidding. It was a gorgeous nose ..." He ripped out the gauze and caused Callie to whimper, "And it will be again. Two weeks from now, you won't even be able to tell anything happened." He lifted her head and turned it back and forth to get a better look at the broken mess.

"Really?"

"Mm, three weeks. Four tops."

"I hate you."

"You don't even know me." He took the syringe and stuck it directly into her nostril.

"Ow," Callie whined

"Little pinch," Mark reassured as he continued the injection.

"Ow, ow, ow. Ow. Ow," Callie cried.

"Oh, come on. That didn't hurt." Mark pulled away.

"Yeah, well, maybe if I was having a good year, it would feel like just a little pinch. But it hurts, Dr. Sloan. It hurts a lot. Ow. Things were supposed to start looking up, you know? I took a big step, life owes me a solid. I've paid my dues… Haven't I? I was supposed to have lunch with Dr. Robbins today."

"You know what?" He stepped back from his whining patient. "I was gonna do this with some local, But I think we'll use conscious sedation, That way, when you wake up, your nose will be fixed, And it'll feel like whole new day."

"Okay, well, at least I'll still have you, right?" Callie said. "You'll still be my sort of new friend who occasionally tries to have sex with me? Even though I will _always_ turn you down?"

"Anytime. It'd be an honor to be your ego boost," Mark replied. "You know, once your face heals."

"Never mind," Callie said. "I hate you."

"You don't even know me."

* * *

Arizona finished her rounds, with no sign of Dr. Torres anywhere. She thought for sure the woman would have found her by now. She didn't think Callie would cancel her their lunch, but maybe she'd gotten pulled into an emergency surgery? She decided to head down to the surgical floor to see if Torres was on the board.

When she arrived at the surgical floor she headed straight to the desk in front of the surgical board. A couple of nurses were whispering and she thought she caught the name Torres, so she grabbed a chart and pretended to read.

"I heard they were getting a divorce," one said. "But I can't believe he'd do that."

Arizona's brow furrowed. Do what? She wanted to ask, but she generally stayed clear of the gossip circuit. That way lied trouble.

"I believe it, he gives me the creeps," the second nurse said. "I was actually there when he hit that intern… and did you not hear about the shattered window a few weeks ago?"

"Yeah, I guess you are right," the first one replied. "Poor Dr. Torres… and all those kids they have. It's a shame."

Arizona had heard enough to pique her interest, she needed details, "I'm sorry… I hate to interrupt, but what's happening with Dr. Torres?"

"Um…" the first nurse hesitated and looked to the second nurse.

"We probably shouldn't say," the second nurse replied. "It's a privacy issue."

"Are you kidding me right now? You two were sitting here gossiping about it… how is that private?"

"We both know because we had to take her off the surgical board for the day… reschedule and reassign all of her surgeries."

"Just, tell me what happened," Arizona insisted. "I'm supposed to have lunch with her today!"

"Okay, fine…" the first nurse conceded. "All we know is that she is in a procedure room with Dr. Sloan… under sedation, while he fixes her broken nose."

"_And_ that her broken nose was caused by her husband," the second nurse added.

"Soon to be ex-husband," the first corrected.

Though her expression hadn't changed, Arizona was both extremely worried and extremely pissed-off. She didn't know who to go find first…. Callie, to see if she was okay, or Owen… to punch him herself.

"What procedure room is Dr. Torres in?" Arizona calmly asked, through gritted teeth.

The first nurse turned to the computer and started typing, "Let me see… hmm, oh, here it is… under the name Calliope? Is that what Callie's short for? I didn't know that… it's kinda funny…"

"Yes, Callie is short for Calliope, it's a beautiful name… now tell me where she is," Arizona was getting impatient.

"It looks like she's almost finished and is scheduled to be in recovery room 213. She'll probably still be a little…"

Arizona took off before the nurse could even finish her sentence.

"… loopy," she looked around. "Where did Dr. Robbins go?" she asked.

"I have no idea… surgeons are so weird."

* * *

Arizona stormed through the Pit with only one thing on her mind. Callie was hurt and Owen needed to explain himself. She didn't ask herself why she felt so protective over her colleague. They weren't even actual friends yet, they were just starting to cultivate that relationship, she honestly had no right to want to defend Dr. Torres, but here she was raging toward the intense ginger as he filled out some paperwork.

"Dr. Hunt," she yelled.

"Oh, hello, Dr. Robbins. What are you doing down here? I didn't know we had any ped's cases… were you paged?"

She tried to calm her breathing, but she was so mad, "Did you break Calliope's nose?"

"Oh." Owen sighed, "You heard about that?"

"Yeah, I did… and I didn't want to believe it, but… what the hell, Dr. Hunt?" Arizona was incensed. She couldn't believe Owen could be so cavalier about breaking his wife's nose. What kind of man was he? Her tiny hand involuntarily formed a fist.

"It just happened," Owen defended. "I didn't even know…" he started, but was stopped by a surprisingly hard left hook. "Hey!" He grabbed his face.

"Ow… oh ow, ow, ow!" Arizona was hugging her left hand tight to her chest. "I think I broke my finger!"

April, having witnessed the whole scene from behind the ER desk, came running over to intervene.

"What's going on?" She frantically asked.

"I don't really know," Owen replied. "Robbins here just punched me in the eye."

"You deserve worse for hitting your wife," She spat. "You should be in jail!"

Owen's eye was starting to swell, but he still managed to look surprised. "Hit my wife? I didn't… I don't understand… Oh! Her nose? She ran into a door! It was just a coincidence that I was on the other side of the door. I would never intentionally hit her…"

"Oh," Arizona's anger immediately dissipated. She was still cradling her hand. "I'm uh… so sorry, Dr. Hunt. I thought… I mean those nurses said… I'm just… I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

"Your hand may be small, but you sure pack a punch," he touched his face tenderly. "I think I'll be fine, though."

"I'm the daughter of a marine, so I was taught to hit. As a child I was taught to hit fast and hit hard so you only have to hit once…" She tried to move her hand, but she winced in pain. "Apparently I missed the part about protecting my own hand…"

Everyone in the Pit was now staring at the two doctors, rumors already forming. April decided to diffuse the situation by removing Dr. Robbins from the area.

"Dr. Robbins, we should get that x-rayed," she said. "Let's go…" April led the embarrassed surgeon off toward x-ray.

* * *

April took Arizona to radiology, she sent the tech away and took the films herself. The x-ray revealed a fracture of the proximal phalanx of the small finger on her left hand. A simple splint would do, but setting it would be painful. Plus, she would be out of surgery for at least a month.

"Do you want me to call Dr. Wylie to do this? I know you are friends with her, I've seen you lunch together."

"No! Absolutely not… I'm mad at her too," Arizona said. "It doesn't need surgery, right?"

"No, just a splint, but it'll hurt getting it back in place. Can I ask what happened back there?" April inquired.

"I don't know… "Arizona sighed. "I know you've heard the same rumors about Dr. Hunt's violent tendencies as I have. I mean, it's all over the hospital… and then when I heard he broke Dr. Torres' nose… I just lost it. I thought he… I thought her _hurt_ her, Kepner," she paused. "Calliope doesn't deserve that, you know? She's devoted and kind… she deserves better."

"You are a good friend, Dr. Robbins," April smiled. "How about we do this under conscious sedation? Save you some pain. When you wake up, you can head on home."

"Thank you, April."

* * *

When Arizona finally became aware of her surroundings again she was in a recovery room. She looked to her left and realized she must be in recovery room 213, because Dr. Torres was dozing lightly in the bed next to her.

Arizona was mortified by what she'd done. How could she possibly to explain to Callie that she broke her finger by mistakenly defending her against her husband who hadn't actually done anything wrong? She was so embarrassed, she needed to escape. But before she could even get the blanket off, the door to the recovery room burst open. Callie to jumped awake and then moaned in pain. She reached for her head to steady it.

Ellis Grey strode boldly into the room, followed by a somewhat cowered Owen Hunt.

"Are you both awake?" the stern older woman asked.

"Um, yes mam," Arizona replied. Ellis reminded her of her father, she was so intimidating. All this worrying about how to tell Callie, Arizona had completely forgotten she'd have to explain this to the Chief.

Callie sat up carefully, "I'm awake… I think. What… what's going on?" She turned and looked at Arizona. "What happened to you?" and then back at Owen whose eye was starting to bruise, "and you?"

"That's exactly what I'd like to know, Dr. Torres."

"I got hit by a door," Callie said. "That's all I remember. I have no idea what is up with these two."

Owen just stood there silent, so Callie and Ellis both turned to Arizona for an explanation.

"Would you accept that it was just a series of unfortunate events? A, uh… simple misunderstanding?" She asked. When no one responded she added, "Dr. Hunt and I are good, right? No hard feelings?"

Owen finally found his voice, "Dr. Robbins is completely correct, Chief Grey. It's all good. We're good. It… was an accident."

"Hmm, well I'm out two surgeons for who knows how long!" Ellis fumed. "Any more accidents in this hospital and we'll be out of surgeons."

"Wait," Callie said. "I'm confused."

"It's because you have a concussion, Torres," Ellis said. "Your _husband_ will fill you in, I have work to do." And just like that, she was gone. Leaving the three injured parties alone.

"Someone please tell me what's happening," Callie said. "Arizona? Are you okay? Your hand… What happened?"

"She's a good friend to you is what happened," Owen said. "She thought I broke your nose, so she came to your defense. Got me good." He turned his head so that Callie could better see his eye.

"You did that for me?" Callie asked. Her heart rate increased. It made her dizzy, she was glad she was already lying down.

Arizona lowered her head in embarrassment, "I would have done that for any friend."

"Maybe, but you did it for me, no one else has even been in to check on me. I'm grateful."

"Kepner asked about you," Arizona smiled. "She said to tell you she's working on a French accent… I'm not exactly sure what the means…"

Callie chuckled.

Owen stood back and watched. Callie's face and nose were swollen, but he could tell she was taken with Dr. Robbins… and it seemed like the feelings were mutual. He should probably feel jealous, but he didn't. Instead, he felt… let off the hook. He didn't need to worry about Callie, she would be okay without him.

She didn't need him. Which… gave him an idea. He cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the two women. "I'm sorry, Owen," Callie said. "I forgot you were there."

"I just wanted to tell you that you have to stay the night here, unless you have someone to monitor you."

"Oh… that's not necessary. I'm fine, really," Callie whined. "I just want to go home."

"You have a concussion, Callie. You can't be alone," Owen said. "I could stay with you tonight, but my mother has plans, so it would be all of us. I'm not sure how much rest you would get with the kids…"

"I could do it," Arizona said tentatively.

"What?" Callie asked. "I couldn't ask you to do that. I'll… just stay here."

"No, you should be where you are comfortable," Arizona insisted. "I could come over and hang out, make sure you wake up every three hours. I can't work anyway… we can take of each other. How does that sound?"

"It sounds great," Callie smiled, "But I can't ask you to do that. It's too much…"

"Callie, I think it's a good idea," Owen interrupted. "You'll feel so much better at home. Plus… the guest room is free."

"Are you sure it won't be a burden?" Callie asked Arizona.

"I promise, it'll be fun… like a sleepover… of really clumsy injured people."

"I'll leave you two to talk it out," Owen said. "And I'll find someone to give you a ride. Kepner maybe?"

"Sounds good," Callie smiled. Owen left the room make preparations for the two women to be discharged and to secure a ride with Dr. Kepner.

Once Owen had was gone, Callie looked back toward Arizona, "Are you sure you are okay with this?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Arizona asked. "We are friends, right?"

"Are we?"

"I think we are," Arizona said seriously, then she smiled, "I don't just punch the soon-to-be ex-husbands of anyone."

"Thank you again for defending my honor. Standing up to my supposed assailant, even though it wasn't, you know… an intentional act."

"Anytime," Arizona said.

Callie reached up and touched her face again, she sighed, "Do I look a bad?"

"You look beautiful," Arizona replied. "As always. Absolutely… beautiful."


	8. Chapter 8

**Note: **I appreciate all the reviews, they keep me motivated. Special thanks to lem0915 for being my beta and my bouncer… idea bouncer, not the other kind.

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Arizona was in her office, gathering her stuff to go take care of Callie for the night. She was lost in her thoughts, thoughts of spending the night with the woman of her literal dreams. Not that she'd admit that to anyone, it was creepy dreaming about your married colleague, but she'd had her fair share of them. Not sex dreams either, dreams of a life together… doing mundane things. Grocery shopping, walks in the park, happy little stairwell kisses, and flashes of many other everyday things done together. Even though she'd only met them on a few occasions, Callie's three children were often in the dreams. But her absolute favorite, the dream she always awoke from with a longing she didn't quite understand, contained another indistinct, almost fuzzy participant, a tiny infant with coal black hair. Just like Callie's. It was just a dream, but Arizona knew without a doubt this was her child, she felt it in her soul. She didn't know what it meant, if anything, but her subconscious was obviously telling her she was ready to get moving with her life, to stop living her solitary existence. She was so lost in her thoughts, she didn't hear the door open and someone enter.

"What happened to you?"

Arizona jumped. "Jesus, Sam. A little warning next time you sneak up on someone."

"You were all up in your head, and it looked like happy thoughts, I didn't want to interrupt," Sam laughed. "What happened to you?" she pointed to Arizona's splinted finger.

"I broke it."

"You broke your finger?" Sam asked. "And you didn't call me? Who set it?"

"Dr. Kepner," Arizona replied. "She's good, it's fine."

"She's not an orthopedic surgeon, Arizona. You should have called me… why didn't you?"

"You know why."

"I really don't."

"If you don't know, I'm not telling you," Arizona snapped. "Figure it out."

"Real mature," Sam said. "I'm not playing this game, if you don't want to tell me, that's on you. No wonder your relationships don't last… you have no idea how to communicate like an adult."

"You are rude, Sam," Arizona scoffed. "That's what this is about. What you just said is rude and you were rude to Dr. Torres yesterday. You are the one who is playing games… telling her something I shared in confidence. One time I vented my frustrations to you about her. One time."

"This is about Torres?" Sam suddenly realized. Arizona continued packing up her stuff with her one good hand. Sam shook her head, "Of course it is. She's suddenly single-ish and now you don't hate her anymore… Three weeks ago she made your blood boil, you said she was arrogant and pushy, now what… she's no longer those things? Because she hot and single?"

"She's more than arrogant and pushy. She's also brilliant, and… yeah, I think she's attractive. I would like to get to know her beyond this hospital."

"She's straight, Arizona."

"Maybe."

"No, not maybe," Sam insisted. "She's married to a man and has a crapload of children, there is no maybe... She's straight. You are wasting your time."

"Well, it's my time to waste then, isn't it?" Arizona replied. "It's not your business… and I'm done discussing Dr. Torres with you. My friendship with her is off limits, understand?"

"Fine," Sam conceded. "But when whatever it is you are thinking about blows up in your face, don't come crying to me about it."

"Your terms are acceptable."

"Don't do this, Arizona," Sam said sincerely. Her angry tone softened. "You'll get hurt, and I don't want to see you hurt."

"Thank you for your concern. Really… it's sweet, but Dr. Torres isn't going to hurt me because I'm not looking for love," Arizona out-and-out lied. She just didn't want to talk about what she was feeling with Sam, it was new and personal and just hers. "She's hot and if she's up for something… new? I'm her girl, but that's it. I don't like her in any way other than that." Arizona spoke with a conviction she didn't feel. She knew if Callie was interested… she was in trouble. Big time.

"So… you _aren't_ interested in more than just another notch on your post Lauren, destructive string-of-one-nighters' belt? You've done them all, right… goldstars, bisexuals, sliding scales… even a few gay for the days. Might as well put married to a man on that list."

"I told you that name is off limits," Arizona said through gritted teeth. "And you are way beyond the rude border right now, Sam. What I do with my life is not for you to judge. We're friends and your concern is sweet, but you don't get to have input into my life choices. You are crossing a line."

"Yeah… well, it's not like I have anything to lose. You don't see me anyway," She yelled. Neither said anything for a few moments until Sam whispered. "I could have loved you."

"Sam… what?" Arizona said. She had suspected before that Dr. Wylie had feelings for her, but Arizona didn't reciprocate, she tried to write Sam's overtures off as simple flirting… denial was a powerful thing. "No. You don't… we're friends, not… "

"Like I said, you don't see me," Sam turned to leave, she paused when she reached the door, "Have a nice life, Dr. Robbins," she slammed the door shut behind her.

After the explosive ending to her relationship with she-who-shall-not-be-named, Arizona had used sex as a coping mechanism. She numbed herself with one night stands and short intense non-emotional hook-ups. Through all that, she needed a friend, someone she could trust, that had no expectations from her. Sam stepped in and filled that void nicely. Or so she thought.

Arizona sighed, "Well, crap…."

Apparently, Sam was just waiting for her to get it all out of her system… playing the long game, waiting for Arizona to finish with her promiscuous ways to make her move. She must have sensed that Arizona's sleeping around was drawing to a close, that she wanted more, and Dr. Wylie's instincts weren't wrong. Arizona longed for an emotional connection, unfortunately for Sam, that longing was pointing her in one direction, and one direction only: Dr. Calliope Torres.

It shouldn't make sense… How the fact that Callie was now single could so change Arizona's outlook. How she could suddenly be so smitten, when she barely knew the woman. How that simple change in Callie's marital status had awoken a sleeping giant… a giant that wanted to love and be loved. None of it would make sense to an outside observer, but Arizona didn't care what others thought. It was what it was.

Arizona just wanted to feel, and for better or for worse, Calliope Torres stirred up something long dormant. She felt a potential… a sense of anticipation, something she couldn't quite define. Whatever it was, she wasn't going to pass it up for anyone.

She just hoped Callie was capable of reciprocating.

* * *

April Kepner chattered on and on from the driver's seat of her small car. She really liked to talk. Callie was listening with a lot more attention than Arizona could muster. Callie must be used to it. Maybe being a mother made her immune to babble? Either that or Callie was on a higher dose of pain medication than she was on.

From her position in the back seat, Arizona could ignore most of the conversation, which at some point had turned to livestock. She figured April's sudden need to regale them with every detail of her life, was because she was on the outs with most of the other residents. It was just part of the fall-out from the unfortunate incident between her and Karev and Webber last month. Meredith and Cristina were becoming closer, and neither had much to do with poor April anymore. Karev had been coming to peds more and more in an effort to avoid everyone.

At first Arizona was pissed that Karev would use her that way, but lately she'd been enjoying his company _and_ he seemed to have and affinity for working with children... so much so, that she asked Ellis to keep him on her service until further notice. She wanted to evaluate his potential for pediatrics. The chief had agreed without much resistance, Grey was happy to have him away from general surgery _and_ her daughter. After what he'd done, he didn't have much choice. Arizona would happily offer him a refuge, as long as he followed her rules. He was in no position to turn her down, so Arizona had a shiny new protégé to mold. If things worked out, she hoped to have him ready to compete for the peds fellowship in time for their boards, which were just a few short months away.

Now, with her injury, she was grateful to have him, he'd need to be her hands for the next few weeks at least. Arizona hoped she'd be healed and back in surgical shape before the conjoined twin surgery. That surgery was her baby, she wasn't going to have anyone else do it for her. She'd just have to do everything she can to rehab her finger faster. She looked down at her broken finger and sighed. It was a stupid impetuous move on her part, one that may end up being a whole lot more trouble than she'd anticipated, but she couldn't bring herself to regret it. Callie seemed to invoke strong reactions from her… good, bad, and everything in between. Callie made her feel, and she loved that. The numbness caused by Lauren's betrayal finally seemed to be behind her.

"Kepner," Callie eventually spoke, interrupting Arizona's inner musings. "Remember that conversation we had the other day about your voice?"

"Oh… I'm sorry," April turned and looked at Callie, then quickly back to the road. "Am I giving you a headache again?"

"No. No… my broken nose and concussion are giving me headache, you're just intensifying it a bit. As much as I enjoy talking about pigs, how about we just play the quiet game for the rest of the ride home?" Callie looked back at Arizona and winked, the simple plaster nose cast barely hindering her movement.

They enjoyed relative silence for the remainder of the trip, April only speaking to ask for clarification on directions and to ask if they needed to stop by Arizona's to pick anything up. To which Arizona declined, she kept an extra set of clothes at the hospital and would be returning to her own home in the morning anyway.

When they finally arrived at their destination, Callie turned in her seat to speak directly to Arizona. "You really don't have to do this, I'm fine. They did a head CT and there were no bleeds. It's just a minor concussion. No big deal."

"Dr. Hunt said you were unconscious for almost two whole minutes, that's anything but minor," April interrupted.

Callie tried to scowl in return, but it hurt her face too much.

"It's okay, I really don't mind," Arizona said. "You need someone to wake you and I'm happy to do it."

"I'll set my alarm for every three hours," Callie countered.

"And if you can't wake, that helps you how?"

"She's got you there, Dr. Torres," April said.

"But you are injured too," Callie argued. "You should be at home, taking your own pain meds and resting comfortably in your own bed."

"If you want, I can drive you home Dr. Robbins," April offered. "And then come back and stay with you Dr. Torres."

"NO!' both women shouted at once.

"That won't be necessary, Kepner," Arizona said. "I made a promise and I'm following through. Now help me get her in the house, and then you can go."

"Fine," April conceded. "But I want it on the record that I offered."

"Duly noted."

April carried both women's belongings into Callie and Owen's house. She left their bags in the foyer area, Callie said she would put them away later.

"If you two are all set then, I guess I'll get going…. oh, I almost forgot! I have a message for you from Dr. Sloan. He said not to mess up his perfect nose and that he was headed to LA for few weeks because Dr. Shepherd is having the baby there. He said that you can see a lesser plastic surgeon for follow up, but not to let them ruin his work," April then turned to Arizona. "He also said to tell you that he would be back in time for your practice runs on the twin surgery and that he was looking forward to working with you. Then he smiled and said he'd heard lots of things about you," April's face scrunched with uncertainty. "He kind of looked like he knew a secret."

"What's that supposed to mean? What sort of things…" Arizona questioned.

"Uh… I'm sure it's nothing," Callie interrupted. Eager to move herself and Arizona further inside. She was glad Dr. Sloan wasn't here himself giving them the message, as Callie was sure he was talking about her practical confession of being in love with Dr. Robbins, "Just good work stuff. Everyone thinks so highly of you."

"You didn't last month on the artificial lung case," Arizona teased.

"That's not true," Callie replied. "I've always thought very highly of you, that's why it was so disappointing that you didn't agree with me… because I was right."

Arizona chuckled, "I guess you've got me there."

The two women got lost in each other's smiles for a moment.

April cleared her throat, "I'm going. You two have a good evening. Oh, Dr. Robbins will you be needing a ride in the morning?"

"No, I'll catch a ride with someone… I won't be going into work anyway. Thank you for bringing us…"

"Yes, Kepner," Callie added. "Thanks for everything. You're okay, you know? Don't let the other residents get you down. You're a good person, who got caught up in a bad situation. Things will work out for you, I promise."

"Well, the only one that will speak to me anyway is Dr. Avery," Kepner said. "He's been sweet."

"Sweet is good," Callie replied. "And he does have amazing eyes."

Arizona's brow furrowed for a second, but quickly smoothed out when Callie turned her gaze back in her direction.

April made her way out the front door leaving the two women alone. Finally.

* * *

Callie made sure Arizona was comfortable in the kitchen and then excused herself to change her clothes. Arizona found a pizza menu on the kitchen island. She thought about placing an order, but didn't know what Callie was in the mood for, or the address for delivery. She took the moment to look around, the kitchen was large and open with a modern feel and large center island. Exactly what she'd expect for a kitchen that serviced a large family.

Upon arrival Arizona had initially thought the house was rather small for a family of five, but once inside she realized the exterior had been deceiving. It was roomy and open on the main level, and though she'd yet to venture upstairs, she assumed it had at least four bedrooms as Callie had mentioned a spare.

She could hear Callie descending the stairs, apparently on her phone with one of the children as she was talking in a soft reassuring tone.

"Yes, sweetie I'm fine," Callie nodded her head in greeting as she entered the kitchen and held her finger up to indicate she needed a minute. Arizona waved her off and picked the pizza menu back up and pretended to read.

"No, you can come home tomorrow… it's Daddy night and Mommy needs to rest," Callie said. "No… just…. tell Gav he can see my broken nose tomorrow. I know. I will, I promise. Yes… tell your grandmother there is a very nice doctor staying with me tonight, I'll be fine." Callie rolled her eyes, which made Arizona chuckle. "Okay, Allie… yes, I love you too. Give BoGo some kisses from me. Okay, night sweetie," Callie finally pressed the button on the phone to end the call.

"Sorry about that," Callie said. "Owen told the kids about my broken nose, and they were worried… and morbidly curious." She noticed the menu in Arizona's hand. "Are you hungry?"

"Absolutely," Arizona said. "We kind of had to skip lunch today… I'm famished."

"Me too, but is something other than pizza okay? I try to steer clear on kid free nights… don't get me wrong, I love pizza, but not several-times-a-week love. BoGo would eat it every meal if I let them."

Arizona tilted her head to the side a little and asked, "BoGo?"

"Oh… it's…," Callie hesitated. "Promise you won't think I'm a bad mother?"

"Cross my heart," Arizona replied.

"When I was getting my first ultrasound with the boys, before I knew I was carrying twins… Addison asked if I had been to a Buy One, Get One free sale…" Callie shook her head, "That was her twisted way of breaking the news. After that, it kind of became a thing. It's my collective name for the boys. I've called them that since they were in utero."

"I think it's… a little bit disturbing, and they'll definitely need therapy when they grow up…"

"What?"

"I'm teasing, Callie… it's adorable," Arizona said. "Just like them… all of your kids are adorable."

"Thanks," Callie smiled. "So… food?" She quickly asked before things could get awkward.

"Yes, please."

* * *

They ended up ordering soup from Callie's favorite deli, as neither were looking for something heavy with the pain meds they were on. Thankfully they delivered, and in no time the two were seated at the kitchen island enjoying their simple supper. They ate their meals in relative silence, occasionally making small talk about interesting cases and each shared a little hospital gossip.

Callie wanted to ask about Sam Wylie and Arizona's mystery ex... And Arizona wanted to ask about Owen, the divorce, and what was going on with Callie and Mark Sloan, but both kept it to safer topics while dining.

Arizona finished first and pushed her bowl away with her good hand, "That was a really good idea. I haven't had soup that good since I stumbled upon Pike's Place Chowder when I first arrived in Seattle."

"Yeah, I used to love Pike's, but the line is always so long there, I'm all about in-and-out now. It's a serious side effect of having children… lines lead to whines. It's best for everyone involved to avoid them at all cost."

"Kids or lines?" Arizona laughed.

"I love my kids, but don't tempt me with that question," Callie joked back. "Do you want go sit in the family room? Maybe watch some television? We aren't due for pain medication for another hour or so, and I'm sure to be out quite quickly after that so…"

"I'd love to go watch some television with you, Calliope," Arizona replied. "Were you thinking of anything in particular?"

"Not really… I'd be happy with anything but Nickelodeon or the Disney Channel."

They cleared their dinner mess, disposing of the empty soup containers and rinsing then placing the bowls and utensils in the dishwasher. Callie grabbed their two icepacks from the freezer then lead Arizona to the family room. They both sat on the sofa facing the television, somewhat awkwardly.

Callie picked up the remote and the TV sprang to life, cartoons bouncing across the screen. She pressed the mute button, and turned to Arizona, "I'm sorry… I have no idea what to watch I'm not a big television person."

"It's okay, we don't have to watch anything… if you want to read, or do whatever you normally do at this time. You don't have to play the hostess to me. I'm here to watch over you, not for you to entertain."

"How about…" Callie hesitated. "We just talk for a while, get to know each other away from the hospital?"

"I'd love to know more about you, so that sounds just about perfect."

"Okay, then," Callie said. "Uh… I'd offer you a glass of wine, but…"

"I get it," Arizona replied. She smiled at Callie who blushed at the sight of dimples.

"This is… uh… suddenly awkward."

"It doesn't have to be, I like you Callie. You don't have to be afraid of me."

"Do you?" Callie asked. "Like me, that is?"

"I do."

"Then why haven't we ever…" Callie tentatively asked. "You know, acted like friends?"

"Oh, uh… well you were married," Arizona started.

"You can't be friends with married people?"

"No, that's not it at all," Arizona replied. "You just… had your own thing going. You and Hunt were…"

"Separated when you first got here," Callie said.

"I… wondered about that actually," Arizona said. "I heard that you were married, then one night at Joe's I saw…"

"Owen with another woman? Yeah, he was seeing a resident… well, sleeping with one, while we were separated," Callie confessed. "We shouldn't have reconciled… but if we hadn't, I wouldn't have the boys."

"Sounds like, it was just another of life's detours," Arizona paused, "It doesn't always go as we planned, does it?"

"No, it certainly doesn't," Callie wanted to bring up her trip to the alternate universe, without actually bringing up her trip to the alternate universe. "Do you ever… Uh, think about different lives? Alternate lives?"

"What do you mean?"

"Kind of like… if you had made a different choice at some point, done one thing differently… how your life would be altered?"

"I'm aware of the multiverse scientific theory. My brother is such a science nerd. He sends me scientific articles all the time and, if I remember correctly, he recently sent one about that very subject, but I've never really given it much thought beyond theory."

"Well, you know more than I do then. I was thinking on more basic terms… like if Owen and I had never married… what would my life look like now? Or, if Ellis hadn't convinced me to go into cardiothoracic surgery… what kind of surgeon would I be? I was leaning toward orthopedics, before she changed my mind." Callie tried to share, without actually sharing what she knew from her short visit in the other place, when she realized something Arizona said. "Wait… did you say your brother?" Callie remembered her one night with the alternate Arizona. Cuddled safe in their bed, as Arizona shared the story of them, she spoke of Timothy and how he wanted to dance at her wedding. This was… different.

"Yes, my big brother… Timothy. He's in the Marines, Camp Pendleton… he uh, lost his leg in combat in Afghanistan… I guess it was right before I came to Seattle," Arizona replied.

"I'm so sorry," Callie said. "That must have been hard for him."

"He was devastated, naturally, but has made a full recovery," Arizona smiled with pride. "He is actually back on active duty. He's, um… amazing. He's also my best friend."

"He sounds amazing." Callie smiled.

"I'm sorry we got sidetracked," Arizona replied. "So… you were talking about making different choices?"

"Do you believe in destiny?"

"I do."

"Do you think that you've had a defining moment?" Callie probed further. "A moment in your life that changed your course? Maybe a chance you didn't take that could have altered your destiny?"

"Wow. Uh… deep stuff here tonight, Callie," Arizona's brow furrowed. She could think of two incidences that could have had major repercussions on her current existence.

That night in Joe's, it wasn't _Owen_ that Arizona saw… it was _Callie_. She was sitting at the bar alone upset. Arizona hadn't even officially met her yet, but she had admired her… thought she was beautiful. When Callie rose from her barstool and entered the restroom in tears, she had almost followed. Almost. But she didn't, because she was dealing with her own demons at the time. That demon being her brother, and _his _horrible accident. She's often wondered what would have happened if she'd followed Callie into that dirty bar bathroom. Would they have hooked-up? One and done, or would Callie have not reconciled with Owen? Could they have been together all this time? Saving Arizona from Lauren and several years of numbness, but costing Callie her boys?

And the other thing… if she'd just not chickened-out on sending in that Carter Madison grant proposal… she'd be in Africa now, living her dream of saving children. Instead, her thieving ex is living her dream. Lauren submitted her proposal behind her back, she said she did if _for_ Arizona, to prove to her that she was capable winning… But changing the name on the submission and subsequently taking the credit had put a little damper on Arizona's joy.

Arizona wasn't ready to share any of that with Callie, not yet. Maybe they'd become something and Arizona would feel safe sharing this stuff, but for now, she deflected. "I was thinking I would find out where you grew up, maybe your favorite movie… or restaurant, but alternate universes and destiny… roads not taken? Those are at least third date questions."

"Date?" Callie's head shot up. She was caught off guard at the quickness with which the word date had entered their conversation. Not that she didn't want a date, or been thinking constantly about it, that _was_ her goal… but she thought she would have some time to facilitate a more natural progression. She knew what she wanted, but what would Arizona think of her, moving on from her husband so soon?

"Uh… um, I didn't mean… not that I wouldn't…" Arizona stuttered. She was peeved with herself at her slip up. She wanted to ask Callie out, for sure, but she wanted to ease into it. Put out some feelers first, maybe wait until Callie wasn't concussed. When she could be sure that what she was saying was matching what she was feeling.

"Arizona, it's okay," Callie replied. "I'm… teasing you. This isn't… no there's no date…"

The panic on Arizona's face left and in its place something closer to disappointment took over. Her gaze dropped to the ice pack on her hand and she pretended to adjust it.

Callie realized something right then and there… she never wanted to cause a look of disappointment on that beautiful face, ever again. She swallowed her nerves, this was her moment… she should just… ask Arizona out right now.

"Arizona," Callie whispered. Arizona looked up and into Callie's eyes.

"Hmm?"

"I just got separated," Callie swallowed. "And… things are moving quickly, but…"

"You're not ready," Arizona inferred. "I get it."

"No… it's not that, I'm more than ready to move on… Owen and I haven't been… it's been more than a year since I've had sex… and our marriage was over, even before that. Trust me, I'm ready. I just… I don't want a rebound, I don't want something meaningless."

"I don't either," Arizona ventured, hopeful.

"I also don't want to have a broken nose and two black eyes," Callie added. "So in a few weeks… when I'm healed and I don't look like prize fighter?"

"You are beautiful," Arizona smiled. "And people will be lining up for you."

"You wanna give me some names?" Callie teased back.

"I think you'll know." Arizona winked. She thought about leaning in for a kiss, but just as quickly dismissed the idea. They'd established interest… that was good enough for now. "So… tell me more about these alternate universes…"

They spent the rest of the hour making up wild scenarios for the different lives of everyone they worked with. Some of Callie's fake situations were… not so fake. They were actually experienced firsthand, but Arizona didn't need to know that.

Finally, after taking their pain medication, Callie showed Arizona to the spare room and also pointed out where she'd be sleeping. Arizona set her alarm for three hours so she could get up to wake Callie. She would need to check to make sure the brunette could be easily awakened and wasn't exhibiting symptoms of a deteriorating condition.

As she laid in the bed in Callie's spare room, she couldn't help but smile. Tonight she would sleep with several things running through her mind: destiny, fate, and a whole lot of hope.


	9. Chapter 9

**Note: **Sorry about the crude jokes… I have a problem, I know. Also I speak no French so Google translate is my friend. Dick's drive-in is a real place in Seattle that I know nothing about. Thank Google again.

.

The night went by quickly, as they always do when sleeping. Arizona was able to rouse Callie without any problems. Her safety assured, Arizona left early the following morning so as not to overstay her welcome. They exchanged mobile phone numbers and once again promised lunch. Callie needed a week before she could come back to work due to the concussion, and Arizona was only taking a few days away from the hospital, then she was returning, but on limited duty. No surgeries, just consults and teaching until her finger was healed.

Callie promised herself she'd wait a few days before texting Arizona… she lasted until the afternoon of the third day.

'_Hello. How's that finger feeling? Is it ready for some action?' _Callie hit send. She read back what she had typed, her face turned red. Dammit. She threw her phone on the sofa, embarrassed at the unintentional dirtiness of that text. Why had she let herself send that?

'_My finger is fine. How is your nose? Is your head feeling better?' _

Callie picked her phone back up and read Arizona's smiled and pushed past her embarrassment. Thankfully Arizona had ignored the awkward innuendo. _'It is. I got the cast off my nose yesterday, and the bruising isn't quite as bad as I expected.' _Her fingers flew across the tiny touchscreen._ 'And these pain pills are fantastic.'_

'_Right? I barely feel any pain. How are doing other than your head? Having fun with your time off?' _

'_I'm bored. No kids, no work… I can't really do anything. Not supposed to drive until after my neuro follow-up. I'm going stir crazy.'_

'_I'm at the hospital now, picking up some research. I'm all finished though…" _

Callie's phone indicated that Arizona as still typing, so she waited, impatiently, for the rest of the sentence.

'_I could swing by, pick you up. Maybe take you out for lunch?' _Callie smiled at Arizona's response. '_Not a date or anything, just a friendly lunch. ;-)' _Came another quick reply.

'_Oh my, I would LOVE that. But, you've done too much for me already. Plus, I'm not sure about being seen in a restaurant looking like a raccoon.'_

'_Don't you worry about that, you always look great. But I'll think of something. Ok?'_

'_Ok.' _Callie responded. '_I'll do it.' _She didn't want to sound too eager. _'But take your time. Don't rush on my account.'_

'_I'm finished here anyway. See you soon.'_

Callie smiled, thinking the conversation went well and she didn't humiliate herself too much. Then her phone buzzed again. She looked down at the phone in her hand and chuckled.

'_BTW, my finger is always ready for action.' _

So much for avoiding embarrassment.

* * *

Callie quickly shook off the embarrassment and ran upstairs to make herself look as presentable as possible considering she had hints of purple under both her eyes. The discoloring wasn't as bad as she was expecting and the swelling had diminished in the few days since she'd last seen Arizona. The cast was off and in its place was a simple bandage, just a small bit of support to keep the fractured bone from slipping. She figured she looked as well as could be expected under the circumstances.

She pulled her hair into a loose ponytail and applied a bit of gloss to her lips. Make-up was pointless. Covering her bruises wouldn't fool anyone, so natural would have to do. She was wearing a simple grey V-neck t-shirt and some black yoga pants. She looked in her full length mirror and decided the shirt was fine, but removed the yoga pants and changed into a comfortable pair of well-worn jeans. It was early spring, and rather nice, but the weather still called for some outerwear. She was going to grab a basic casual sweater, but something in the back of the closet caught her eye. Something she hadn't put on for years… her black leather jacket.

"Oh yes," Callie spoke aloud to herself. "This will due." She slid her arms into the familiar, well-worn coat. She pulled the lapels toward her nose and tried to take a whiff of the once ever present smell of the leather. Unfortunately, her nose was still not functioning to capacity, so the affect was somewhat subdued, but she knew that perfect leather smell was there and that made her happy.

* * *

Callie was pacing back and forth in her foyer, waiting for Arizona to arrive. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, causing her to jump. She pulled it out and answered without looking at the caller id, assuming it was Arizona letting her know she had arrived.

"Hey, are you here?" Callie asked.

"No, I'm in LA… _giving birth_."

"What?!" Callie exclaimed. "Wait… Addison? Is that you?"

"Of course it is, who else do you know that's as pregnant as I was… am? Soon to not be?"

"You're in labor right now?" Callie asked. "How are you so calm?"

"Drugs," Addison sighed. "They induced me this morning. Finally, because I'm three weeks overdue."

"And you just… paused contractions to call me?"

"I'm in between, we have a solid five minutes to talk. Plus, I'm taking narcotics… can't really feel a thing. Screw that natural birth stuff. I've seen too much, delivered too many."

"Preaching to choir, Addie. You forget I've popped out three myself?"

"No, no… how could I forget that? I delivered them for you."

"I believe I did most of the work," Callie countered.

"Yeah, yeah… Mark said you broke your nose? And Dr. Robbins punched Owen. What the hell is going on in Seattle? I knew that place would fall apart without me."

"Addison… you wouldn't believe me if I told you." Callie said. "I've been trying to call you for over a week. Owen and I are divorcing."

"I heard… Mark again, he loves his gossip."

"Does that mean he told you…"

"That you have a burning desire for Dr. Robbins? Oh yeah… he told me. What's the deal?"

"God, Addison it's… crazy. I can't stop thinking about her. She's invading my every thought and fantasy. I… I feel like I'm Captain of the Starship Fantasize and my mission is to seek out a new life in the form of a hot dimpled perky blonde. I need help."

"Callie," Addison said. "Are you actually speaking the vagina monologues now?"

The doorbell rang before Callie could answer Addison. She opened it to find the gorgeous blonde she was currently talking about standing there… giant dimpled smile on her face, holding up her medical bag. She _really_ didn't want to have this conversation with Arizona in earshot, but Addison was still talking. Callie would have to… improvise. She indicated with a raised finger that she'd just be a minute and waved the other woman into the house.

"I'm all for it, okay?" Addison said, worried that she'd offended Callie. "I think it's fantastic. Is this… a new development?"

"No, I uh… picked it up years ago. I'm bi..." She glanced up at Arizona "lingual. I thought you knew I was… _bilingual_?" Not that this was something she wanted to hide from Arizona, she planned to discuss it with her soon, actually, but she didn't want Arizona to know she was currently talking about her.

"I've only ever seen you date men, and… you know… you have husband, so no… I didn't know that," Addison replied.

"Well, just because you've never, uh… seen me speak the language, doesn't mean I don't."

"Why are you talking in code?" Addison asked. "Are the kids there?"

"No, Dr. Robbins just got here… we're about to head out for lunch." Callie put her hand over the mouthpiece of her phone and whispered to the blonde. "It's Addison, she's in labor."

"She's in labor? Why is she questioning you about being bilingual?"

"Uh… it's the drugs," Callie replied, her hand slipping from the mouthpiece.

"What?" Addison said from the phone. "Drugs don't make you gay Callie, you're a doctor for God's sake. You know this."

"No, not me Addison… you."

"I'm not gay," Addison announced. "Or bilingual. Well… I did experiment with some French in college, but we never got past the rouler une pelle and a little heavy pelotage… I'm nowhere close to fluent…"

"Addison," Callie firmly stated. "I need to hang up this phone right now,"

"Fine, but after I squeeze this baby out… I want details."

"Of course I'll give you details. Good luck with the baby, I'm sure everything will be fine," Callie said. "And tell Mark hello from me. Call me later, okay?"

"Okay, Cal," Addison said. "Enjoy your hot dimpled perky lunch."

Callie hung up the phone without responding. She slipped it into her jacket pocket and turned to look at Arizona. "Hi," She smiled.

"Hi," Arizona replied. She held up her medical bag. "I have something for you."

Callie lifted an eyebrow in question, "And what might that be?"

"A quick neuro evaluation, Shepherd said if you passed, you could drive again. So… where did you wanna?"

"The kitchen has the best light," Callie eagerly responded. She took Arizona's injured hand lightly in her own and led her to the kitchen.

* * *

Arizona's breath caught in her throat when Callie took her hand. The brunette's soft fingers gently brushed her palm. Arizona ran her eyes down the beautiful form in front of her. She had to close her eyes and a deep breath. _This woman_.

She followed the brunette to the kitchen and placed her medical bag on the island. She quickly got to work testing Callie's balance, memory, and strength.

"You're doing great," Arizona said. "Just one more, and you'll be free to do as you please. Drive at will… return to work even." She pulled her penlight out of her bag and had Callie sit on the barstool. Arizona moved her body close to the brunette's, she reached up and brushed aside a piece of hair that had fallen in front of Callie's eyes. She was so close, she could smell the clean sent of Callie's soap, a hint of vanilla from the woman's shampoo, and the leather from her jacket.

Callie swallowed hard at the proximity of the blonde, their faces were only inches apart, if she leaned forward just the slightest bit their lips would touch. She fought the urge.

Arizona used the light to check Callie's pupillary reaction, they were equal and reactive, indicating normal neural function. She lowered the penlight and the two women just gazed into each other's eyes for a moment. Callie looked as though she wanted to kiss her, and Arizona wanted her to, she _really_ did, but it was too soon. She cleared her throat and took a step back.

"All good," she said. "You are free to take up your regular activities… within reason. I wouldn't suggest any contact sports."

"Damn, my tackle football league starts this weekend," Callie said.

Arizona scrutinized Callie's face for a second, "You're kidding… right?"

"Of course I am, Arizona. I don't play football…" Callie teased, "I kickbox. No… _hockey_."

"Dr. Torres, stop yanking my chain," Arizona instructed.

"But your chain is so adorable," Callie said, "it's hard not tweak it a little." She reached out and gently pulled on a few strands of Arizona straight blonde hair.

"You just wait until I'm the one doing the tweaking," Arizona replied. "Then we'll see how much you like it." She tilted her head and her eyebrows crept up in challenge.

"I look forward to it."

* * *

Arizona's car was pristine. Not a spot of dust, nor crumb of food to be found. No crushed cheerios or dried silly putty. Even when she was single, Callie wasn't sure her car was ever this clean. She glanced up at Arizona adjusting the rearview mirror. God, she was beautiful. So, so beautiful.

Addison's questions about her sexuality got Callie thinking. Did Arizona know for sure that Callie was interested in pursuing something more than friendship? Callie wasn't necessarily closeted about her fluid sexuality, it just didn't come up while she was married to Owen. He knew, of course. As did her sister and father. Though she'd never had a _serious_ long-term relationship with a woman, she did date one during med school long enough to bring home to meet her parents. She hadn't really dated a woman since coming to Seattle, unless you counted a few sort-of-dates with Erica Hahn before she left town. Erica was nice and interesting, but nothing came of it. Then she met Owen and had been in a monogamous relationship ever since.

Had she made herself clear? Did Arizona know that she was also interested in women? Or did she just think that Callie was into…

"Do you like Dick's, Callie?" Arizona interrupted Callie's train of thought.

"What?"

"Dick's? Do you like them?" Arizona asked again. "Because if you don't… I'll have to think of something else for us to do this afternoon."

"What?"

"The burger place? You know… the drive-in diner? What did you think I was…?" Arizona's face turned red as she realized what Callie thought she was talking about. "Oh. OH! No… I wasn't asking…" She stuttered and fumbled. "I wouldn't…"

"The diner… What…? Oh! Dick's! I love Dick's," Callie finally understood what Arizona was asking. She started giggling like a twelve year old. "What about you, Dr. Robbins?" Callie's giggle turned into cackle. "Do you like…" She couldn't stop laughing, "I can't…. I can't even say it now."

Arizona was laughing now too, her embarrassment fading and amusement taking over. "Well, there is no way in hell I'm saying that. And you can't make me."

Arizona's refusal to say she liked Dick's made Callie laugh so hard she snorted. "Ow!" she exclaimed. "Oh… that hurt my nose."

* * *

After grabbing their burgers at Seattle's famous Dick's Drive-In restaurant, Arizona drove them to a small park that overlooked the city. They took their burgers and fries and found an empty bench with a perfect view of the city's skyline.

"Thank you for getting me out of the house," Callie said. She pulled her greasy burger out of the bag and took a bite. "Mmm. God, this is a really good… burger."

"Yes, it is." Arizona grabbed a fry from their shared pile. "I love… _these burgers_." She pointed a fry at the giggling brunette. "I'm still not saying it."

Callie chuckled. She licked her lips and decided she need to clear things up. Just get it out there, so they could start this thing without any confusion or misconceptions. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course," Arizona responded. "Anything."

"What are we doing here?" She gestured between them.

"You aren't going to trick me into saying 'eating d. i. c. k. s.', Callie." Arizona spelled out the word she was avoiding. "I'm too smart for that. I grew up with an older brother."

"No," Callie smiled. "I'm not. I'm being serious. What… what are your intentions? Because I know mine… and I just want to be sure that we are both on the same page."

"Ah," Arizona sat her burger down and wiped her mouth with her napkin. She turned on the bench to face the nervous woman next to her. "I like you. A lot. I think you are stunning, Callie… and I really want to get to know you more."

"Are we talking… get to know in a friendly manner or more of a girlfriendly manner?"

"It's rather early to be throwing the word girlfriend about, but yeah… I'm talking in a more than friend capacity. Not that I wouldn't be okay with just being your friend, if that's what you want?"

"No! No, I just wanted… I wanted to be sure, you know? Because, I mean… I was… am... married… to a man."

"I'm aware," Arizona said. "But you are separated."

"Yes, yes… of course," Callie sighed. She wasn't making herself clear. "How did you know I was…?" She paused. "That I'd be into dating a woman? I've been married to a man since you've known me."

"I wasn't sure," Arizona said. "I'm still not one hundred percent confident, and that frightens me a little, but… I think you are worth the risk."

"I had a girlfriend before, you know," Callie said.

"I didn't know," Arizona replied. "But… you don't have to defend yourself to me, Callie."

"I just, I don't want you to be 'frightened' by me," Callie sighed. "I want you to know that I'm capable of having a relationship with a woman, I'm not… inexperienced. I'm out to my family. Well… my dad and sister know I'm… bisexual. Oh… and Uncle Berto."

"I take it he's…"

"The gay uncle? Yep."

"What about your mother? You didn't mention her. Does she know?"

"She did. I don't think she took it seriously though. I think she thought it was a phase. At first, my father wasn't for it all, but Mom was mostly silent… like she was waiting it out. Eventually, he came to accept it, but Mom still didn't discuss it with me. I didn't push because I wasn't even with my girlfriend anymore so it didn't matter." Callie looked thoughtful, as if debating whether or not to continue. Looking in to Arizona's warm blue eyes, she felt safe, so she sighed, "Mom passed away, a few months after Owen and I started dating. I think… I think that's why we… I was sad and he made me not sad. My mom loved him… We, uh… ended up in Vegas getting married by Elvis. He shipped out two weeks later and month after that I found out I was pregnant with Allegra."

"Sounds like a lot was going on at one time."

"It was," Callie picked at her burger. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean bring the mood down. I just wanted you to know that I would like to take you on a real date, and that I'm not experimenting… or rebounding. You're more than that, you're special." Callie looked away, embarrassed.

"I think you are special too," Arizona replied. "I'll admit… I was a little unsure. When I saw you with Mark Sloan last week. I kind of thought maybe you were interested in him."

Callie smiled, "We were talking about you," she confessed.

It was Arizona's turn to be surprised "What?! You were talking about me?"

"He kept trying to hit on me, so I told him, in no uncertain terms, that I _wasn't_ interested in him. I was already interested in someone else."

Arizona couldn't help the smile that crept on her face.

The two women went back to eating their burgers. Callie was happy with how the conversation had progressed, she'd said everything that she wanted… maybe shared a little more than she wanted, the stuff about her mother was a little heavy, but overall it went well.

"So," Callie nudged Arizona with her elbow. "What's the deal with Sam? How long has she been in love with you?"

Arizona sucked in a surprised breath, causing a tiny piece of her burger to fly down her throat. She coughed hard to clear it from her airway. Callie reached over and patted her on the back. When she finally got herself under control she looked over to find amused brown orbs staring back at her.

"I bet when you got out of bed this morning you didn't think you'd be choking on a…"

"If you finish that sentence… I'm never speaking to you again."

* * *

After they got their laughter under control and finished their burgers, Callie asked again about Sam Wylie.

"So… Dr. Wylie? What's the deal there?"

"Sam is my friend, Callie," Arizona answered. "Nothing more."

"Is she aware of that? Because she looks at you like a person who is feeling things beyond friendship."

"For my part, I'm sure," Arizona sighed. "But it has recently come to my attention that she's a little… resentful that I…" she licked her lips, "That I'm suddenly interested in you because you are single."

"Is it?" Callie asked. "Your interest… Is it sudden?"

"You were married, I wasn't allowed to be interested in you."

Callie smiled at the answer, "Just so you know… I've thought about you a lot. When I knew I shouldn't be. In ways that I shouldn't have." Her cheeks burned red. "God… my marriage was over long before I acknowledged the end."

"Well, I'm sorry…" Arizona replied. "I'm sorry that I can't be sorrier your marriage is ending."

"Me too," Callie agreed, but she wanted to move the conversation to safer waters. She didn't want to accidently blurt that she was in love with Arizona, even though she already knew she was. It was way too soon for such declarations. She didn't want to scare her off. So instead she blurted, "I think Owen is in love with Cristina Yang."

"Get out," Arizona replied, shocked. "Yang? Really?"

"I have no proof, mind you," Callie confided. She didn't, other than what she saw in the other universe. Those two being married there, was kind of a big clue. "But I'm pretty sure he had a 'thing' with her when we were separated. A sex thing. That he never go over."

"I bet that was tough," Arizona said sincerely. "Did you? When you guys were apart? See anyone?"

"No," Callie sighed. "I took vows, you know? Even though he broke his… I thought I should keep mine, we never did an official separation, not like this time. I filed immediately. I know we are done. We gave it a valiant effort, but we are so over. I'm not a cheater, but I'm not waiting three months for the divorce to be final. I've given up too much of my life to that farce."

"That's good to know."

"So what about you?"

"Am I a cheater?"

"No," Callie chuckled. "I know you had a serious girlfriend for a while, what happened with her? Did she cheat?"

Arizona looked at Callie long and hard. She wasn't sure she was ready to share this stuff yet. They hadn't even had a date yet.

"No," Arizona finally said. "She didn't… that I was aware of. But she did do something unforgivable. Something… I'm not ready to talk about yet. Is that okay?"

"Of course, Arizona," Callie stated. "I didn't meant to pry."

"No… it's fine, it just… still stings," Arizona bit her lip, then grinned. "Besides… we need stuff to talk about on our date, right?"

"We do," Callie said. She reached over and took Arizona's hand in her own. "I have the kids this weekend, how about I take you to dinner… I want to say next Wednesday, when Owen has the kids again, but I want my bruises gone, so next Friday? Or Saturday?"

"Friday night," Arizona quickly agreed. "It's a date. Our first."

"Hopefully, the first of many."


	10. Chapter 10

**Note: **Thanks to everyone who leaves reviews, it's very much appreciated.

**.**

Arizona paced around her apartment, phone to her ear, waiting for the person on the other end to answer. She had just returned home after her lunch with Callie and she was bursting to share her joy. She hadn't felt so free and comfortable with a person since, well, she wasn't sure she'd ever felt so much, so soon… for anyone.

"No… no, don't go to voicemail," Arizona sighed as she waited for the tone. "Dammit, Timothy. Where are you? I need to talk to someone."

After her lunch with Callie, she was buzzing with excitement. She was happy, for the first time in a long time she felt a brightness in her future. A sense of impending greatness. The future that she'd stopped imagining for herself a long time ago was within her grasp… a future filled with possibility. If she wasn't careful, she would let her excitement and hope overwhelm her. She needed someone to share it with that could talk her down from her height, _without_ completely bursting her bubble.

She needed her big brother.

* * *

Callie couldn't keep the smile off of her face. Arizona had dropped her off after their glorious afternoon spent laughing and just enjoying each other's company and she was still giddy from the experience.

Owen was due at any time to drop off the kids, they'd been with him the night before. He'd offered to keep them again, since Callie was still recovering, but she was happy and wanted to spend the evening sharing her excitement with the children. Not that she was going to tell them why she was so happy yet, but they'd all spent too many nights as a family in discomfort and solitude. Callie wanted to revel in the joy.

She was in the kitchen preparing a snack for the kids, as they were always hungry when they got home from daycare, when she heard the front door opening. A chorus of 'we're home' and 'mommy' followed. Owen's gentle reminder for them to hang their school bags on the hooks, came right before the tiny pounding of feet as the three ran into the kitchen to greet her. She bent down just in time to receive their hugs and kisses.

"Hey guys," I missed you last night.

"Missed you too, Mommy," Gus replied.

"Me too, me too," Gavin had to get his in.

"Mommy, there was a lady looking for you at preschool today," Allegra informed. She looked back at her father for confirmation. "She was old, right Daddy?"

"Yes, Allie, she was, but don't say that," Owen corrected the young girl.

"But she was!"

"It's just not polite to say that about someone, even if it's true," Callie added. Her mind immediately went to Genie. "Did this woman say what she wanted?" Callie looked from Allegra to Owen.

"She said she was 'just checking in' and that you'd know what it was about," Owen replied. "She was a volunteer… I'd never seen her there before, but Allie said she has."

"Yes, Mommy she was there… talkin' to you at the sale." Allegra said. "Don't you remember?"

"Is your bwain still squishy, Mommy?" Gus asked.

"Is dat why you forget?" Gavin finished Gus' thought.

"No, no guys, I remember. My brain is fine," Callie started herding them toward the bathroom. "Go wash up, and you can have a quick snack before playtime. You too, Al. Let me talk to your daddy for a minute."

Once the kids were in the downstairs washroom Callie turned back to Owen. "She didn't say anything else?" Owen shook his head no. "How to get in touch with her? Nothing?"

"No, nothing. Just that she'd find you," Owen replied. "So… uh, how was your day? Heard Robbins was coming by to do a neuro on you?"

Callie didn't respond right away, she moved back to island and finished plating some crackers and cheese for the kids, but the smile on her face… _that_ she couldn't control.

"How did it go?" Owen prodded a little more. "You look happy…"

"It was nice, Owen," Callie said. As much as she wanted to burst with joy and gush about her afternoon and as cordial as her and Owen had been since separating, it just didn't feel appropriate to discuss with him. Not yet. "I got cleared to drive, and return to work… but I'm waiting until Monday for that. And we had some lunch. Chatted a bit." She carried the snack plates over to the table and then returned to the refrigerator to grab some juice boxes.

Owen watched her carefully, he knew she was holding back. Their marriage may have been a farce, but you don't live with someone for four years and not get to know them, at least a little bit.

Callie looked up and saw the look on Owen's face, it was a look she never quite figured out. His brow was creased, like he was deep in thought… he almost looked angry, though she could tell from his posture he wasn't. He was relaxed.

"How's Yang," Callie ventured.

"I'm sorry, what? Dr. Yang?" Owen brow creased further and now his shoulders tightened. "Why… why do you ask?"

"Have you asked her out yet?" When Owen didn't answer right away, Callie added, "Or were you still seeing her from when we were separated before?"

"Callie, no," He quickly replied. "I swear… after we got back together. I didn't…"

"I know, Owen… I know that, I'm sorry," She backtracked. "I'm not bitter…" Callie chuckled. "This is what we both need. The past… is the past. I want to move forward, and I think you should too. And… I… uh… I like Cristina…"

"How did…"

"I'm not blind, Owen," Callie replied.

The kids came barreling back into the kitchen before Owen could respond. They each climbed into their normal seats and started eating their snacks.

"How about you stay for a cup of coffee, and we can sit on the patio and talk while they have some play time in the yard?"

"Sounds great, Cal."

* * *

Arizona had managed to tamp down her excitement enough to pull out her laptop and do a little work for the evening. She was writing a paper on advances in minimally invasive pediatric surgeries, she was a big believer in less is more, especially when it came to cutting open a child. Her mind was too busy to get much actual writing done, though, so she was just doing some editing and random surfing in between.

She was just about to give up on this too, as her brain was currently stuck on one subject, when an incoming Skype call window popped up on her browser. She immediately answered the call.

Major Timothy Robbins, Arizona's beloved big brother came into view when as soon as she accepted the call.

"Hey, Sis. I got your message. What's going on? It sounded urgent," he said. "Everything okay?"

"Everything is great, Timmy. It's fantastic!" She could barely contain her smile.

Timothy held his hand up in front of his face as if he were blocking the sunlight, "Whoa, dial down the dimples a bit. My shades aren't handy and I don't have on my leg."

"Sorry, sorry… I'm just happy." She took note of his lack of uniform and surmised he was Skyping from home. "Are you home for the day?"

"Oh, yeah. I was on the freeway when you called. Easy days for desk Marines," there was a hint of regret in his voice.

"Timothy," Arizona warned. "Don't."

"Don't what, Sis? I'm fine… I just miss the action. You know me."

"I do, and that's why I'm glad you have a nice stress-free desk job," Arizona replied. "I worry less."

"You didn't call to talk about me, and I know I don't put that kind of smile on your face, now spill. It's about a girl right?"

"Of course you put a smile on my face, but…" Arizona grinned again. "You're right, it's about a girl. No… not a girl, I'm not a teenager anymore, Timothy, it's about a _woman_. An extremely successful, breathtakingly stunning woman."

"Wow, I haven't seen you this excited about someone since that bitch…"

Arizona held up both hands in front of the laptop screen, "No, no, no… don't' say that name. This is a happy call, no downers." As she did so it put her splinted finger right in line with the camera.

"Hey, what happened to your hand?"

Realizing her mistake, Arizona quickly pulled her hand out of view of her laptop camera.

"It's nothing, just a little…. thing…"

"Arizona, you can't lie to me, I know all of your tells. And right now? Your neck is turning red, indicating that you are both embarrassed _and_ lying."

She tried to cover her neck with her good hand, but gave up when Timothy insisted, "Come on. Just tell me."

Arizona shook her head no, "It's nothing… I promise."

"Not only is your neck red, your eyes looked up and to the left when you spoke, and I'm your brother, Arizona. I know you. And, I've had Marine Corps Intelligence training. Interrogation tactics 101… we learn to read body language. You are an open book to me, Little Sis. So you might as well go all in. You know I won't give up on this." Now his dimples were on display. "Please. I really wanna know."

"Okay, fine," she sighed, trying to compose her explanation in a way that didn't sound so… juvenile. When she couldn't come up with something that sounded reasonable she just blurted. "I punched the husband of the woman I like. I fractured the proximal phalanx… basically, I broke my pinky. I'm can't perform any surgeries for a few weeks while it heals. It's fine, though. It didn't require surgery or anything, just a minor break…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa…. Back up there," Timothy said. "Did you say husband? Your new girl has a husband?"

"No, of course not," Arizona bit her lip, "I mean, technically yes. But they are separated." She quickly added.

"Oh, Arizona. Married? To a man? Separated or not, that's a mess to get into. Especially if you are having to punch people… What is that about?"

"Well, it's a long story. And I will tell you, but before I do, promise me… no judgments, okay? I really need a friend on this, someone I can trust. She makes me feel things, Timothy, and I don't want you to dampen that, okay? Can you promise you'll listen to me?"

"Of course I'll listen. You know it," he picked up his laptop off the stand and brought it with him as he leaned back on the sofa and made himself more comfortable. "See, all comfy for a long story."

"Okay… I don't know where to start…"

"How long have you been dating her?" Timothy tried to get the ball rolling.

"Oh, well… we haven't actually had a date yet," Arizona smiled.

Timothy sighed and rubbed his forehead in frustration. "Arizona, you better start at the beginning… and I mean the very beginning."

* * *

Callie and Owen sat on the partially covered patio in what used to be _their_ backyard, but now it only belonged to Callie. Carlos had purchased the house for them after they had reconciled. He hadn't thought much of it at the time, but Owen had to chuckle to himself now, Carlos must not have had too much faith in their reconciliation, because he purchased it solely in Callie's name. He had claimed it was for tax reasons, but it certainly made the division of assets easier. It didn't bother Owen anyway, he'd never felt quite at home in the place. Callie and the kids loved it though, so even if he could, he'd never try to take this home from her.

He didn't even want to consider getting a place of his own, not for a while. He loved his kids dearly and would never intentionally endanger them, and Callie trusted him… but he liked having the buffer of his mother. Plus, his mom loved having them all at her home. She insisted her house was a home for a family, not a lonely old woman.

He wasn't sure what Callie knew about him and Cristina, or how she knew what she knew, but after he punched the glass at the hospital all those weeks ago he'd started therapy. He'd kept it from Callie, the only one who knew was Cristina. He thought he was protecting his wife from his problems, but what he was doing was shutting her out. He had been intentionally shutting her out of his recovery and he learned from therapy that he kept this from her because he partially blamed her for his anger. He knew deep down that his problems were deeper than him and Callie. They were a result of his time in combat zones, but her inability to help him and his inability to trust her to help him was something that put a wedge in their marriage. A wedge that caused a gaping hole, one he thought he would be attending therapy to close, but that plan had changed as soon Callie had asked for the divorce. Callie's request allowed him to concentrate on himself, and what he needed, as opposed to trying to fix his marriage. He could barely express how grateful he was for that.

"So, do you want to tell me about Yang?" Callie ventured. They were sitting on the patio sipping on coffee. The boys were digging in their sandbox, while Allegra was on the wooden swing set that Owen built their first summer in the house. "You don't have to, it's okay. I just…"

"There is nothing to tell really," Owen interrupted. "Not yet, at least." He took a sip of his coffee and sighed. "I do like her though, she calms me, Callie. Makes me feel safe… and grounded."

"I'm sorry I couldn't be the person you needed, Owen."

"So, you would be okay if I…"

"If she helps you with your PTSD, I'm all for it. If she makes _you_ happy, it makes me happy."

"I think she can… she has this way about her that," he shook his head, trying to come up with an explanation. "I don't know how to describe it, but she feels right."

"I'm glad," Callie said sincerely. She reached over and touched his arm, and for the first time in long time, he didn't flinch. "I'm happy for you."

"What about you?" Owen asked. "Robbins is nice."

Again, Callie couldn't help the smile that took over her face at the mention of the blonde's name. "Oh, God, Owen. This is so weird… us talking about other people? I didn't really want to do that, but it's killing me not sharing with anyone." She looked him directly in the eyes. "I _really_ like her."

"I figured," Owen smiled gently. "Does she reciprocate?"

"I hope so, no… I'm pretty sure," Callie steeled herself to ask the next question. "Are you okay with it? She's a… she and… I…"

"Callie, relax. I know you've been with women before," Owen reassured. "You've never hidden that from me. We used to talk, remember? When we were first together, we would talk for hours."

"I do remember," Callie replied. "Seems like a lifetime ago."

"Is it serious or just…?"

"It's not just sex, Owen. We haven't even had a date," Callie looked at him earnestly "I just… I need to know if you are okay with it."

"I would never presume to tell you who, man or woman, you could date. I think she's great. The kids will love her. You don't need my permission."

"Thank you," she swallowed. "Though, to be fair… I wasn't asking permission. You don't actually get to have input into my romantic ventures. I just… wanted to know what I was dealing with. That's all."

Owen chuckled. "Right… what was I thinking? _You_… asking _me_ for approval? Like that would ever happen."

"Hey! I didn't always make decisions without you…" she balled up her napkin and tossed it at him.

Owen held up his hands in surrender, "It's not a bad thing, Callie, I wasn't complaining. Your independence is one of the things that attracted me to you in the first place."

"And here I thought it was my extremely fine ass."

Owen laughed out loud, "That too."

* * *

Arizona was away from her laptop grabbing a beer from her fridge, while Timothy recapped what he'd learned.

"So you've known her since you moved to Seattle?"

"Yes," Arizona said as she sat back on her couch, beer in hand. "But I didn't know know her, you know?"

"No… I don't' know."

"Stop it. I mean we met and were colleagues, but we weren't friends. Actually, she separated from her husband right around the time I started. I almost hit on her in a bar… a couple weeks later her and the husband were back together."

"And you work with the husband too?"

"Yes, he's a trauma surgeon. Kind of intense. He was an army surgeon, a good guy, he did a good bit of battlefield medicine… field surgery. He apparently lost some friends, I think he has PTSD. There are some anger issues, for sure."

"Arizona."

"What?"

"It sounds like this guy needs help… not you moving in on his wife."

"Hey! Don't… don't." Arizona pointed at the screen. "I don't presume to know what happened in their marriage, or what is going on in Owen Hunt's head… but they are _both_ happy their marriage is over. I don't believe I've ever seen Owen smile as much as he has since they've been separated. Callie and Owen separated on their own. _I had nothing to do with it_. We didn't even start… talking, until they were separated. So just… don't."

"Okay, I believe you," Timothy held his hands up in surrender. "I've just seen post combat issues destroy a lot of marriages, it's tough."

"I think their problems started long before Owen's PTSD," Arizona shook her head. "But that's not what I want to talk about. I want to talk about Calliope, not her husband."

"Right, right… where were you? Oh! You almost hit on her in a bar, but didn't because…"

"I wasn't in a good place then. I had just moved… you had just lost your leg… A lot was going on."

"Ah."

"So… I waited. Next thing I know, she's back with her husband and within a year they had twins."

Timothy sat up so fast he almost dropped his laptop, "Twins? They have kids, Arizona?"

"Yeah," She said a little sheepishly, "They have three."

"Oh, Sis. What are you getting yourself into?"

"I don't know," Arizona said honestly. "I don't know what's going to come of this, but I know I can't not find out. Timothy… I've never met anyone like her before."

"Okay, okay relax. Where does your broken finger come in?"

"Oh, well. Like I said, Dr. Hunt has had some anger issues. He punched an intern a while back… and just a month or so ago he punched and broke a glass partition in the ER."

"Are you sure you want to be getting mixed up with these people, Arizona? It sounds messy."

"Just let me finish, okay?" At her brother's nod she continued. "Last week, I heard some nurses talking about Callie and that she had a broken nose… that Owen caused it. I kind of freaked. I thought he hit her, Timmy. So I found him and when he didn't deny it… I lost it and punched him. Just like Dad taught me. Turns out… he hadn't hit her… well he did, but it was with the door to the attending's lounge. A complete accident."

Timothy had tried to keep a straight face while Arizona told her tale of gallantry, but he couldn't. He put his hands over his mouth and giggled like a teenager.

"Timothy Robbins! You are a _Marine_, giggling doesn't become you."

"God, you sounded like Dad. Chill, Sis." Timothy said. "Just the thought of little ole you punching a former military guy in defense of… a hot girl," At his sister's narrowed eyes, he quickly changed to, "Woman… I mean a hot woman."

"Better," she said.

"Anyway, you mistakenly punching a guy for hitting his wife, when he really didn't hit his wife. It's just such a comedy of errors…"

"Yeah, well Chief Grey didn't think it was so funny," Arizona chuckled. "But Owen forgave me. He was actually kind of impressed... happy someone stood up for Callie. Even though she didn't need it."

"And they say chivalry is dead."

"She inspires me," Arizona shrugged. She sighed deeply and picked at the label on her mostly undrunk beer. "Can I tell you something really personal?"

"Of course, Arizona. You know it."

"I've had some," she paused, "dreams… of a life with her. _Literal dreams_… almost like glimpses of what our life together would be like. At first it was just an occasional dream, but lately… it's almost nightly. I wake up… and I want to go back to sleep. I want that life so bad. And… I'm pretty sure she feels the same way."

"Okay."

"Okay? What…?" Arizona was confused by Timothy's simple declaration.

"I mean… it's okay. I get it. You are feeling soul-matey things. You should go for it, see if she's your one."

"And if she's not? If my subconscious is just crazy into her because I think she's hot?" Arizona questioned.

"You'll never know if you don't try, right?" Timothy said. "So go for it, and if she isn't the one… then you're no worse off than you are now. And if she breaks you? I'll help you pick up the pieces, just like when that bitch whose name you won't let me say tore you apart."

"I can tell you one thing," Arizona said. "I've felt more joy after one lunch with Callie, than I did during my whole relationship with Lauren. And you know what? You _can_ say her name… I'm not giving her any power over me anymore."

"Right on, Sis!" Timothy pumped his fist.

"Really? That's what you are going with?" Arizona picked on her brother's interjection.  
"Right on?"

"Right. On." Timothy repeated with a nod of his head after each word.

"Dork."

"I have one more question for you, Sis." Timothy stopped smiling and look of complete seriousness came over his face.

Arizona was a little bit afraid of what he might ask, his expression was so earnest. "Um… okay, go ahead and ask."

"How's her ass?"

"Jesus, Timothy. I'm not answering that." She tried to look offended, but it made her think about the object in question and she couldn't help the blush that crept up her neck and into her cheeks.

"You don't have to, that blush on your face tells me everything I need to know."

"And just what is that?"

"Your Callie has a fine ass."

* * *

Arizona's call with her brother ended a few hours ago and she'd long since given up on getting any work done tonight. He'd covered every reason she shouldn't be dating Callie Torres and not a single one swayed her. She was confident and sure, Callie was a risk… that much was clear, but it was risk Arizona had to take. This was her chance at something she couldn't quite grasp.

It was either going to be the greatest thing that ever happened to her, or not. It was that simple. She couldn't view it any other way.

She couldn't keep her mind from wandering to the perfect afternoon she'd shared with Callie. They'd laughed and talked for most of the afternoon, and only parted when Callie had to go home to be there when her kids arrived. The afternoon could have easily turned to a full evening together, possibly into the night. Neither had wanted to part when the time came.

Arizona was sitting on her couch flipping through the channels on her television. Normally she would have been out with friends, possibly at Joe's having some drinks, but tonight she just wanted to sit and think… about Callie.

She was fighting the urge to pick up her phone and call, she didn't want to seem overeager. She purposefully avoided looking at her phone as it sat on the coffee table and taunted her.

Arizona stopped her channel surfing when she came across a documentary on parallel universes. It was being narrated by Morgan Freeman, and reminded her of the conversation she'd had with Callie the night she'd stayed at her place.

She grabbed her throw and settled herself on the couch.

_"Is there more than one of you? More than one of me? Another version of me may look identical…" _Morgan Freeman narrated from the television screen. _"We could all be living multiple parallel lives. Because as scientists explore the outer reaches of physics and the cosmos, they are beginning to believe that parallel universes do exist. And that they might determine the fate of humanity."_

Arizona became so engrossed in the show that she actually jumped when her phone buzzed from the coffee table. She picked it up when Callie's name flashed across the screen.

"Oh, thank God," She paused the show and answered her phone before it could go to voicemail. "Hello," she quickly said. "Callie?"

"Oh… hey," Callie stuttered. "I thought it was going to voicemail… I was prepping an awe-inspiring message in my head."

"Hmm, well now I wish I had let it go…" Arizona said in a teasing voice.

"Stop, it's not nice to tease." Callie replied.

"Teasing is very fun, if done properly," Arizona chuckled. "I uh… had a really great time today. I haven't laughed like that in a long time. It was super fun."

"That's exactly what I was calling to tell you," Callie said. "Except… I probably wouldn't have used the word super."

"Okay… maybe you are right," Arizona grumped at being on the receiving end of teasing. "It's not nice to tease."

"Turnabout is fair play."

"Fine," Arizona conceded. "So, how was your evening? Did you have a nice dinner?"

"Oh, I skipped dinner. I just fed the kids," Callie replied. "I was still full from that big…"

"Callie," Arizona warned.

"_Burger. _I promise I was just going to say burger."

"You realize you've ruined Dick's for me," Arizona admonished over Callie's laughter, "Yeah, that's right. I said it. Get your laughs out now because I will never be eating there with you again."

"I'm sorry, I'll stop… I promise."

"I was actually just thinking about you when you called," Arizona went for the subject change.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'm watching this show on the Science Channel about parallel universes, it's really interesting. It made me think about our conversation the other night."

"Oh?" Callie was curious, but didn't want to make herself sound crazy. If she talked about her actual experience, it could scare Arizona off. She definitely didn't want to do that.

"Yeah, they really believe there are other universes out there, parallel to our own… that could even have duplicates of ourselves in them. It's really interesting stuff. I may have to go find that article my brother sent me and actually read it now."

"I'll have to try and catch the show sometime," Callie said. Maybe someday she could share her experience with Arizona, but not yet. "I'll let you get back to watching… I was just calling to let you know I'll see you at work on Monday, I'm taking the weekend with the kids before I return. Maybe we can meet up for lunch?"

"Of course, having lunch with you again would make my day."

"Mine, too. Today was… great," Callie said. "I…" She was interrupted by Allegra screaming from her room. "Hey… I gotta run, Allie must have had a nightmare."

"You go," Arizona quickly replied. "Take care of your kids. I'll see you Monday."

"I can't wait," Callie said. "Goodbye, Arizona,"

"Goodbye, Calliope." Arizona pulled the phone down from her ear and pressed the button to end the call.

Arizona pressed play on the remote and the show started up again. She glanced over at the clock on the wall and sighed.

Monday was four whole days away.


	11. Chapter 11

**Note: **Updated the summary, check it out.

.

The weekend passed in a flash for Callie, the kids consuming most of her time. Her only break from the children came Sunday afternoon when Owen's mother picked them up and took them out for ice-cream. She planned that time to do what she'd been dreading- having the talk with her father. The desire to tell him about her divorce in person was strong, but not strong enough to fly across the country. That option was certainly off the table, but as it was time for her every-other-Sunday-afternoon Skype call, she figured at least face-to-face would do.

Callie was nervous, but the visit went better than expected. Her father was obviously disappointed, but not surprised that the reconciliation didn't take.

"You aren't mad, Daddy?" Callie asked. She was sure in her heart the divorce was the right thing to do, but talking to her father always made her feel like a little girl. A little girl who hated to let down her daddy.

"No, mija. Of course I'm not _mad_. It's not my place to be mad," Carlos said.

"I sense a 'but' coming," Callie replied. "A big 'but'."

"Calliope," Carlos warned. "There is no but, I'm just a little sad for my grandchildren."

"Daddy, you know we'll do our best by them," Callie said. "I want them to see what real love is, not two people who barely speak to each other and sleep in separate rooms. Owen and I just don't work, Daddy, we never have and we never will. He's a good friend and a good father, but we're better apart."

"I trust your judgment, Calliope, your happiness and the happiness of my grandchildren are what's important. If losing your mother has taught me one thing it's not to waste time. Your life is what you make of it, everyday… don't wait for it to happen to you. Make it happen for yourself."

"It's funny you should mention that, because there is someone who I think can make me happy."

"So you're dating again. Well, that's good. That's healthy. I'd like to meet this new gentleman suitor."

"It's way too soon for that. No… no meeting you yet. We haven't even had a real date…" She took a deep breath, "Daddy, please be ok with this."

"With what?" Carlos asked. Callie looked at him and smiled self-consciously until he got the hint. "Oh, it's a woman?"

"Yes," Callie answered simply, then quickly added. "She's smart, and funny, and beautiful and very supportive. She's a pediatric surgeon, she saves children for a living, Daddy. She's amazing."

Carlos didn't say anything, his face unreadable. Finally after a few long, agonizing seconds, he cleared his throat and said, "Well, whenever you think it's time, I'd love to meet her."

Callie released a breath she didn't realize she was holding, and tears of relief formed in her eyes.

"I think that can be arranged," she smiled.

* * *

Arizona was tired of her apartment, she'd tried to keep herself busy all weekend, which normally wasn't a difficult task, but this weekend was taking forever. She went out Friday night with her friends, and had she wanted to, she could have taken someone home. She'd had an offer from a cute young woman who said she was new to Seattle, but Arizona wasn't interested. Not anymore.

She went home alone Friday night, and didn't even bother to go out on Saturday. Instead, she cleaned. And organized… and then reorganized. She cleaned and reorganized both her kitchen cabinets and her closet. She even took some time and vacuumed, and she _hated_ vacuuming. She did everything she could to keep herself from calling Callie.

The stir-crazy blonde made it all the way to Sunday afternoon before needing to get out of the apartment. She had several ideas as to what she wanted do, but all of them involved calling Callie, which is exactly what she was trying to avoid doing. She didn't want to be an over eager beaver. After several discarded ideas, Arizona finally settled on going for a drive and trying to find a nice quiet coffee shop to sit and work on her proposal.

She had a regular coffee shop that she enjoyed quite a bit, she even flirted with the cute barista, but for some reason found herself not wanting to deal with anyone in her regular sphere.

She drove without a specific destination in mind, other than finding a place to have a quiet coffee and do some work. She maneuvered her car with ease through Seattle traffic, away from the center of the city. She drove by the park where she used to play tennis- another place Lauren ruined that she intended to reclaim. Maybe Callie played tennis? Or she could teach Callie to play. She shifted in her seat, a blush creeping up her neck at thought of Callie in a tennis outfit.

A few miles from the park Arizona came across a tiny coffee shop that stood out from the rest of the buildings on the street. It was brick facade with an old fashioned hanging sign above the door that announced the name **_SerenDRIPity_**. Deciding it was just the sort of place she was looking for, she quickly found a parking spot, grabbed her laptop bag and made her way to the front of the shop. There was sidewalk chalkboard in front of the entrance welcoming customers to **_SerenDRIPity_**, underneath the name was the hand written tag, _It Must Have Bean Fate_. Arizona grinned at the name and pushed through the door.

A bell rang announcing her entrance into the shop. The place was inviting and comfortable with several couches, as well as tables and chairs, haphazardly placed around the small café. She went directly to the counter and waited for someone to come take her order. She scanned the daily specials, listed as Brew the Day on the handwritten menu, she considered the house special dark roast, but eventually opted for her usual cappuccino.

After placing her order, she found a comfy spot to sit and powered up her laptop. As she waited for her drink to arrive, she admired the eclectic décor, it was a little too hipster for her taste, but fit the café's vibe well. A few other patrons were also in the shop: a young couple practically canoodling in the back corner, a man who kept sending glances her way, and an elderly lady reading a book, other than that, she was completely alone. Exactly what she'd been looking for.

The barista delivered her cappuccino, in a real mug, and left her to her work. She took a sip of her drink, carefully licking the foam from her lip. It was the best cup of coffee she'd had in ages. Deciding to wait on her work, she pulled up the article her brother sent her about the multiverse theory.

She was so deeply engrossed in reading the article that she didn't notice the person approaching her table until she saw their shadow pass over her indicating them standing behind her. She sighed, thinking it was the man who'd been staring at her since she arrived, but when she turned to tell him to bug-off, she was surprised to see the old lady standing there.

"There are some very interesting theories in that article," she said. "But none of them quite get it right."

"Uh..." Arizona shielded her laptop from view. She hated when someone read over her shoulder, and even though she wasn't currently working on her proposal, she was very protective of her work. "Can I help you?"

"Oh, no no dear. It's _me_ that will be helping _you_," The old woman smiled like she knew a secret. "Well… not _you_ exactly."

"I'm sorry… what?" Arizona's confusion was obvious. "What are you talking about?"

"You are the upswing; _you_ don't need me."

The elderly woman was scrutinizing a little too closely for Arizona's comfort, she shifted in her seat and said, "I have no idea what you are talking about, ma'am. But…" The bell over the door clanged, indicating another patron had entered the shop. "But, I'm kind of in the middle of something here…"

"No, not the middle… just the beginning," the old lady winked. "The best part."

"Arizona?" came a surprised voice from behind the old woman.

Arizona leaned to the side to see around the older woman, pleasantly surprised by the identity of the person who had called her name, "Callie!"

The old woman turned at the same time, bringing her face into view. "Genie?" Callie asked. Her shock at seeing the two women together apparent.

"Dr. Torres," Genie replied in greeting.

"You two know each other?" Callie asked, pointing back and forth between Arizona and Genie.

"No," Arizona immediately shook her head.

"Not yet," Genie replied cryptically.

"But you two know each other?" Arizona guessed.

"Oh yes, my dear," Genie replied. "_Destiny_ brought us together."

"Destiny?" Arizona asked, still a bit lost.

"Our Lady of Destiny," Callie supplied. She gently nudged Genie with her elbow. "Allegra's preschool. It's catholic. Ms. Hart is a volunteer there."

"Oh…" Arizona looked back at the grinning older woman. "Well it's nice to meet you." She held out her hand for the older woman to take.

"I'm sorry, how rude of me. Arizona this is Eugenia Hart, Genie this is Dr. Arizona Robbins," Callie introduced the two officially. She cleared her throat and gave Genie a look that said 'don't say anything remotely weird'. "Dr. Robbins works with me at Seattle Grace Hospital."

"Well isn't that nice," Genie winked. "I'll let you two enjoy your coffee, but if I could speak to you in private before you leave, Dr. Torres."

"Of course, is… uh," Callie glanced at Arizona, who was watching with rapt attention. "Everything okay?"

"Yes, dear, everything is going… _as intended_." She patted Callie on the arm, then turned to Arizona, "It was nice meeting you, Dr. Robbins, I'm sure we'll see each other again… in the future."

Arizona barely managed a, "you too," before the older woman left the two alone to return to her own table on the other side of the café.

Now by themselves, they were finally able to have a proper greeting.

"Hi," Arizona said. "What a delightful surprise this is."

"Yeah," Callie replied, looking around the place. "What exactly are you doing here?"

"Oh," Arizona was taken aback by Callie's response. "I was just having some coffee? Is that not okay?"

"Oh! No, I'm sorry… that sounded rude," Callie quickly stated. "I was just shocked seeing you here, in my neighborhood."

"Wait, this is _your_ neighborhood?"

"Yeah, my house is only about three blocks away. You didn't recognize the street?"

"Huh," Arizona smiled. "No… I was just driving around, looking for a nice place, and I… ended up here."

"Oh, well then," A sly grin formed on Callie's face. "It must have _bean_ destiny."

* * *

Callie went to the counter to order her coffee and a refill for Arizona, while Arizona shutdown her laptop and put it away. She knew no work would be getting done now, not with Callie here. She'd much rather spend time with Callie anyway.

Callie returned to the table with a scone for herself, and the giant chocolate chip cookie Arizona requested, while the barista fixed their drinks.

Callie slid the cookie across the table to Arizona, who took it and smiled with purpose, "Thank you, Dr. Torres."

"You are very welcome, Dr. Robbins." Callie raised a single eyebrow, which actually caused Arizona to swoon a little, which she quickly covered with a question, "Um, what are you doing out and about? I thought you had the kids this weekend."

"I do, they are actually tied to the bike rack out front." Callie responded with a straight face. "I just needed a break."

"I know you are teasing," Arizona shot back.

Callie relented quickly, "Owen's mom took them for ice cream this afternoon so I could make some calls and they wanted to stay with her for dinner. They'll be home in about an hour," Callie pointed to her phone, "She's supposed to text me when they are on their way."

The barista chose that moment to deliver their coffees. Callie immediately picked hers up. Arizona's gaze fell to Callie's flawless lips as she first blew on, then sipped her coffee. Callie moaned at the frothy goodness, and licked her lips to clean away the creamy foam. Arizona swallowed hard, she wanted to kiss the cappuccino foam away so badly that she had to close her eyes to force the thought away. She took a deep breath and when she opened her eyes back up, she glanced over Callie's shoulder to see the woman, Genie, smiling back at her. Thankfully, Callie was still engrossed in her coffee and had missed Arizona's longing look.

Arizona cleared her throat and forced herself to speak, "They're doing okay?" she asked. "The kids? With the transition?"

"So far, things have been fine," Callie answered, oblivious to the affect she had on the other woman. "The boys have been completely undisturbed, and Allie has been asking a few questions, but nothing too traumatic. Honestly, Arizona, not much has changed. Our work schedules had us not spending much family time together anyway… and his mother always kept them on overnights. Our schedules were opposite a lot… which, considering Owen made his own schedule, should have been a big clue that marital implosion was imminent."

"It sounds like his mom is pretty great," Arizona said.

"She's a godsend," Callie replied. "And the kids adore her. She's the only grandmother they have."

Arizona's face took on a sympathetic expression. "I'm sorry," she said. "It must have been hard losing your mother."

"It was," Callie swallowed. "It changed me, I sometimes think about how my life would be different, if she were still alive."

"I can't imagine," Arizona said. "I've never lost anyone close to me. I've been lucky. All of my grandparents are alive, both my parents… the closest I've come is my brother's accident and even that messed me up. I just… I don't know what I'd do with a loss like that. How I'd be different."

"Hmm," Callie sighed. "You never know how it's going to affect you. My father, sister, and I are all closer because of it. Which… is actually the reason Owen's mom took the kids for me today. I had to Skype my dad, break the divorce news."

"Ugh…" Arizona expressed sympathy for Callie's task, "How'd that go?"

"Surprisingly well," Callie nodded. "Very little catholic guilt."

They spent the rest of the hour chatting about their weekend and the upcoming work week, each carefully avoiding the subject of their date- except for a quick conversation to clear-up who would do the planning. Even though Callie technically asked, Arizona wanted to be the one who planned the date. She wanted to woo, she excelled at wooing.

All too soon the flirting, laughing, and finding reasons for their hands to accidently touch came to an end as Callie's phone vibrated across the table. The text she had been anticipating had arrived, alerting her the kids would be home in twenty minutes.

"I'd better head out," Callie sighed. "I walked."

"I could give you a ride?" Arizona tentatively asked. "That way… you could have your chat with um… Genie? She keeps staring." She pointed to the woman who was waving at them, again.

"Ugh," Callie grumbled. "I'll be right back." She pushed her chair back from the table and stood to leave. "I will happily take that ride, but only if you were ready to leave anyway."

"With you gone, there is no reason for me to stay."

"Wow, smooth," Callie's breathtaking smile returned.

"I try my best," Arizona winked.

* * *

"You two are adorable," Genie said as Callie sat down across from her. "I think she's smitten already."

"Why are you here? Is something wrong?"

"Not here, dear," Genie sighed. "Nothing is wrong _here_."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that… as your happiness grows, theirs is about to be tested."

"You mean…"

"Yes, the ones you visited," Genie replied.

"Is there anything we can do?"

"I have no details I'm afraid, I just know that what's coming is coming. We can't change it."

"If we can't help, then why did you tell me?"

"I needed to see you to know for sure. Destiny isn't an exact science, Calliope. Well, it is… technically, but it's above my pay grade."

"You get paid for this?" Callie exclaimed.

"It's a figure of speech, dear," Genie explained. "I'm a volunteer."

"Is it my fault?" Callie sighed, she hated the thought that her happiness here might be causing a rift in the other verse.

"No, no," Genie assured. "I didn't mean to imply that at all. It's just part of the natural ebb and flow."

"Will they be okay?"

"Eventually."

"And you are sure there is nothing we can do?"

"What's coming is a fixed point. It has ramifications across multiple verses, we can't interfere," Genie explained.

"Wait… across verses? Does that mean… something is going to happen here? Should I be wary?"

"I can't answer that."

"Can't or won't?"

Genie didn't respond, her face was unreadable.

"God! Why did you tell me this?" Callie whispered harshly. "How am I supposed to react to this?"

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to…" Genie sighed. "All I know is… what I know. _You_ wouldn't have been able to cross over if you weren't meant to have something here. You were meant to correct your course. You two will be fine, that much I'm sure of. So breathe, Dr. Torres. Put this out of your mind… quickly, _she's coming_."

"Who…"

"Calliope? Is everything okay?" Arizona noticed Callie's discomfort, so she came to rescue the woman from whatever was causing her such distress.

When Callie didn't answer or even turn to look at her, Genie did, she stood from her spot and looked Arizona in the eye, "She's fine, dear. You two had better get going. Don't want to keep those adorable children waiting."

"Callie?" Arizona was still worried about the brunette, she looked like she'd received some bad news. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Callie shook it off, "I'm fine. I promise," but her smile didn't reach her eyes.

* * *

Monday morning rolled around quickly before she knew it, Callie headed to the conference room for Ellis' regularly scheduled staff meeting. She was running late, per usual. She supposed she'd be standing this morning, as Monday's were the full staff meeting, not just department heads. When she arrived the room was full of attending surgeons as well as the department heads, and as suspected was standing room only. She looked around trying to find Arizona in the crowd, but she was suspiciously absent.

Callie's concern over the other versions of her and Arizona had waned during the previous evening. She decided to put her trust in fate and destiny and Genie's assertion that things _here_ were on the upsurge. She almost felt like it would be disrespectful to their alter egos for her not to revel in the happiness that she felt was coming their way. If they were having a hard time, then she would balance it out by making the most of what she was given.

Arizona's absence, however, was worrying. From what she knew of the woman, she was never late for anything. Her not being here, coupled with Genie's cryptic warning… was causing Callie more than a little anxiety.

Ellis came barreling into the room right on time, causing the chatter that had filled the room just seconds ago come to a complete stop. She immediately got down to business.

"There is a lot on the agenda today so, let's get started."

As the various department heads started giving their status reports, Arizona quietly snuck in the room. She weaved her way through the crowd until she was standing to the left and slightly in front of Callie. She turned and looked over her shoulder and gave a slight wink in greeting.

Callie sighed in relief and leaned forward and whispered, "I've never known you to be late before."

The blonde shivered as Callie's warm breath flowed over her ear. Arizona was noticeably blushing, sure it could have been from rushing in at the last minute, but Callie chose to believe it was her proximity causing it.

Arizona quietly cleared her throat and whispered back. "I've been in the skills lab, practicing stiches with this on." She help up the hand with the splint. "The brace is coming off this week and I need to be ready for the conjoined twin surgery. That's my baby, I'm not missing that."

"Pediatrics?" Ellis said. "Dr. Robbins… would you like to share with the rest of us? Or are you just updating Dr. Torres today?"

Arizona's blush intensified, but she managed to get her voice working enough to reply, "I'm sorry Chief Grey, we were just discussing my recovery and how it will affect the Boise twin surgery. On the off chance that my finger won't be healed in time, I'm training Alex Karev as my back-up. However, I expect to be fully recovered and able to perform my part without issue."

"You are right, it won't be an issue. Your new protégée, though I loath to give him the honor, will be going in your place. Next… General?"

Though they weren't actually touching Callie could feel Arizona's body go rigid and her breathing increase. She tenderly placed her hand on the small of the fuming blonde's back in hopes of calming her, giving her something to ground herself with. She wanted to whisper some words of encouragement, but before she got the opportunity, Ellis was asking for a Cardio update.

* * *

Arizona was speechless. She had just been dismissed from a case. Her case. In front of everyone. Callie's gentle touch was the only thing that kept her from bursting into tears during that meeting.

After it was adjourned, Ellis immediately summoned Callie and Owen to go with her, for reasons and to places unknown. Arizona had stormed out of the conference room and was currently hiding in an on call room so she could process this and decide what to do, how to proceed.

A light knock sounded at the door, rousing Arizona from her angered musing. The door creaked open and Arizona's heart leaped in hopes it was Callie coming through the door, but Samantha Wylie stepped in.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Arizona said sharply.

"You don't look fine, you look mad."

"Well…" Arizona sighed. "I not mad. _I'm furious_. She took me off of _my_ case, Sam. My surgery, which I brought to this hospital."

"I knew this would happen," Sam stepped further into the room. "You aren't even dating her, and already getting mixed-up in her drama is costing your career. A career you worked very hard cultivating." Arizona stood silent as Sam moved even closer. "After what happened with Lauren, I can't believe you'd let someone jeopardize your career again." She put her hands on Arizona's biceps and gave them a gentle squeeze. Arizona looked down at the hands that were now slowly moving up and down on her arms, pulling her into an embrace and felt… nothing. Samantha's touch did nothing for her. "Arizona you can't let this happen. Not again." Sam's caress did nothing for her- made her feel nothing- but the words however… motivated her.

"You're right," Arizona nodded. "You are absolutely right. I'm… I'm going to go talk to her right now. Stop this before it goes too far."

* * *

Callie and Owen were in the Chief's office waiting for Ellis to finish up a phone call. Neither knew why they'd been summoned, but both worried it had something to do with their current domestic situation.

Ellis hung up the call and sat up straight in her chair, "I guess you are wondering why you've been asked here this morning?"

"If this is about our divorce, I assure you…" Owen started to say.

"I don't give a rat's ass about your divorce… as long as you keep it out of my hospital, it's none of my business."

"Oh, uh… then what did you want with us?"

"Torres, I know you been unofficially acting as department head for Cardio since Dixon left, and you've done a fine job of it, so I don't want you to take this as a reflection on your work… but as you yourself have just recently finished your fellowship I'm bringing in another person to officially head up the department."

"What? Chief Grey, I've been excellent you can't demote me!" Callie shouted.

"This isn't a demotion, Torres, you were never the given the title or the pay of a department head. I recognize this may feel like a demotion, but to the contrary it's simply a side move. You are an excellent teacher, Meredith swears by the Torres Method and Yang has been no less than brilliant under your tutelage, but your ability to handle paperwork is… lacking," Ellis explained.

Callie wanted to protest, but she knew Ellis was speaking the truth.

"The new Head of Cardio will handle the scheduling, budget, and fellows, while you'll continue to handle the residents' training. Plus, I want you innovating, Torres. Using your surgical skills. You can't do that if you are worried about the budget all the time. We can revisit in a few years, when your life is less… hectic."

It still stung to not be chosen for department head, but Ellis had sufficiently soothed Callie's ire.

"I don't understand why I was here for this?" Owen finally asked.

"I was about to get to that, Dr. Hunt," Ellis grabbed a small stack of papers that were on her desk and handed them to him. "I'm looking for a recommendation. This is who I want to hire."

He read the name at the top of the resume: _Theodora Altman_.

* * *

Arizona stood on the catwalk looking out of the giant windows on the side of the hospital. She could see Owen and Callie in Chief Grey's office and was not so patiently waiting for them to finish up. She had do this now, before she lost her nerve.

From Arizona's current vantage point Callie didn't look happy- that concerned her, but she couldn't think about that now- she had to do what was best for her. Her career was important.

Callie and Owen were both standing and each were shaking hands with Ellis, Arizona figured this meant they were finished. She marched straight to the Chief's door to wait for them to exit.

She was standing right outside, when Ellis opened the door. Before Callie and Owen even made it out into the hall Arizona was speaking, "We need to talk," she blurted. "Now. It can't wait."

"What?" Callie looked taken aback. "You need to talk to me?"

"I was speaking to Chief Grey," Arizona clarified.

"Oh," Callie replied, clearly embarrassed. "Sorry, I thought… I'll just… uh, go."

"Come on in, Robbins," Ellis said, before turning and heading back into the office. "Make it quick, I have surgery in twenty."

Arizona grabbed Callie's arm as she passed by, "Can you, uh… wait for me?" she whispered.

"Of course," Callie replied immediately. "Here?" They stepped away so Owen could push by them to leave. He smiled sheepishly and gave a little wave goodbye before moving across the catwalk.

"Um, actually, can you meet me in the ped's on call room? Ten minutes?" Arizona looked nervous, she bit at her bottom lip as she waited for Callie to answer

"I'll be there," Callie grabbed Arizona's hand and gave it a squeeze, before leaving her to deal with the Chief.

* * *

"What can I do for you Dr. Robbins?" Ellis asked.

Arizona narrowed her eyes, Ellis knew exactly why she was here, she was sure of that.

"Chief Grey, I am going to cry. And I just want you to know that it's going to happen. And I just want you to ignore it. And I'm not crying because I'm upset. It's just what happens when I get mad at people of authority."

"You're mad at me?"

"I'm furious at you, ma'am. And I'm crying because you're the boss, my boss, which brings up my issues of authority and my dad, who you kind of remind me of. Not that you're old… or a man, but you command respect, people respect you…." She took a deep breath and wiped at her eyes. "I'm not sitting out of this surgery. You cannot sit me down."

"Robbins, your finger won't be ready…" Ellis said. "You know how important this surgery is for the prestige of this hospital. As Chief of Surgery, I simply cannot have any…"

"With all due respect, Dr. Grey. _I'm_ _the_ _Chief_ _of Pediatric Surgery_, they approached this hospital because of _me_. I will not step aside. I've worked too hard preparing for this, I refuse to sit out."

Ellis sat back in her chair and carefully scrutinized the tearful surgeon in front of her. "I respect your passion, Dr. Robbins," she finally said. She sighed and waved her hand in front of her, effectively dismissing the younger surgeon. "You can go to Boise. If you aren't able to perform your part, you can still supervise. You're absolutely right, this is your baby."

"Thank you, Dr. Grey," Arizona said. "You won't regret this."

"I hope you don't either."

* * *

Arizona was buzzing with excess energy. She stood up to Ellis Grey. She, Arizona Robbins… stood up to Ellis Grey, and _won_. Sure a few tears were shed in the process, but she was able to make her point and sway the argument in her favor. Arizona counted that as a success. Nothing was going to keep her off that plane to Boise.

She needed to see Callie right now, share the joy. She pressed the button for the elevator again. And again. Trying in vain to make the lift come faster.

"Arizona," Sam called out. She strode up to Arizona with confidence, like she knew exactly what the blonde wanted and needed. "Did you do it?"

"I did," Arizona smiled. "And it was hard, but it had to be done."

"How did she take it?" Sam asked, a sly grin on her face.

"Good, I cried a little, but I think I maintained my dignity."

"Wow, you cried?" Sam's suddenly looked confused. "I thought you weren't serious about this."

"Wait… what?"

"You said that she was just another notch on your belt," Sam replied.

"Ew… no, that's just…. Ew." Arizona shuddered at the thought. "She's a little old for me. And she's my boss. And she's _happily_ married."

"You aren't talking about Torres, are you?" Sam shook her head. "I thought you said you were going to talk to her… break things off. Save your career from her drama."

"Um… no," Arizona said. "Why would I do that? I spoke to Ellis… stood up to her. And I'm back on the case."

The elevator finally arrived and the two women stepped aside for the passengers to get off. Arizona stepped onto the elevator, but Sam stayed put.

Arizona put her hand on the door to keep it from closing and asked, "Are you getting on?"

"No," Sam replied. "I'm headed to Ortho."

"Sam, I uh… lied to you before. I want more from Callie than a notch on my belt. She means more to me than that, so… you need to get yourself good with that or I'm afraid our friendship will suffer. And I don't want that. I like you, Sam, but I'm not interested in you." She pulled her arm away and let the elevator doors slide closed.

* * *

Callie kicked two residents out of the pediatric on call room and she patiently waited for Arizona to arrive. She checked the time on her phone, she need to do rounds and she had surgery in an hour, Arizona had better hurry.

She took the few moments of solitude to seriously think about what had just happened in Ellis' office. She had just had department head job taken from her, but Ellis had said some really nice things about her. She expressed confidence in Callie's skills as a surgeon and teacher, which made Callie happy. Maybe it was a good thing, not having all the extra duties of the department head would give her more time to be a single mother. She hadn't really thought about that before, but she was a single mother of three, time was something she would desperately need.

She was about to check her phone again when the door to the on call room suddenly burst open and a smiling Arizona stepped in.

"Callie," she sighed. "Thank you for waiting. Sorry it took so long."

"It's fine, I have a few minutes before I'm needed," Callie stood from where she had been sitting on the small bed. "Is… everything okay?"

"It's fine…" Arizona was standing few feet away from the brunette, "I uh… I stood up to Ellis, I'm back in charge of the Boise twins' surgery."

"That's fantastic, Arizona," Callie exclaimed. "She had no right to take that from you."

"I know," Arizona chuckled. "I was furious."

"I got demoted," Callie said. At Arizona's incredulous look, she corrected, "Not demoted, per se, but she's finally hiring someone to take over for Dixon as head of Cardio… and it's not me."

"Callie, I'm so sorry… are you okay?"

"You know… I am," Callie smiled. She took a step closer to Arizona. "I'm not… I don't have time for the extra stress right now. It's a blessing in disguise."

Arizona took another step so they were standing face to face, Callie was slightly taller than her, so she had to somewhat look up into the other woman's eyes. Arizona didn't want to rush things with Callie, but Sam's unappealing touch earlier just reminded her of how _much_ Callie made her feel. How a simple brush of fingers, or bump of shoulders moved her more than the other woman's full embrace. Callie set her body on fire.

"Callie?"

"Hmm?"

"I know we haven't had an actual date yet, but it feels like we've already been on two, and uh… I can't wait… I don't _want_ to wait until Friday to do this." She reached up and put her hands gently on either side of Callie's face. Her eyes grazing Callie's perfect lips. Her thumb rubbed across the brunette's cheek ever so softly. She flicked her eyes back up to gaze into Callie's deep brown orbs, "Is this okay?"

Callie swallowed hard, her breathing increased, heart pounding in her chest in anticipation, "Yes," she rasped. Her voice almost gone. "I can't wait either."

Arizona pulled Callie toward her, her head tilting to the side, both their eyes fluttered shut. Their lips meeting in a delicate union of soft flesh. Arizona didn't want to push too much, she kept the kiss light and gentle, ever careful of bumping the brunette's still healing nose. Her right hand, the one without the splint, slid from Callie's cheek and threaded through her thick dark locks. Callie tightly griped the blouse on either side of Arizona's waist causing the shorter woman to moan.

Arizona pulled back away from Callie's full lips and tenderly leaned their foreheads together, eyes still closed. She took a moment to catch her breath and as she did the smell of Callie's perfume, overwhelmed her, spicy and exotic, it nearly drove her mad.

"I'm sorry," Arizona whispered, her eyes fluttering open to once again find soulful browns ones looking back. She let her hands slide down over Callie's shoulder to grasp her upper arms and hold her close. "This morning has been crazy, and I couldn't go another minute without kissing you."

"Arizona…" Callie sighed. "There is something you need to know before we continue this."

The blonde's brow furrowed slightly and a look of apprehension passed over her face. Just as she dropped her hands to her sides, Callie brought hers up to brush Arizona's golden locks away from her eyes, and smoothed the worry crinkle away with her fingertips.

Arizona looked thrown for a second, then Callie's eyebrow raised and a dazzling smile came over the brunette's face, "You never have to apologize for kissing me."

She pulled Arizona in for another, very important, meeting of lips.


End file.
